


Traveling With The Doctor

by PotatoQuinn



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Amnesia, F/M, He still goes on adventures, Is there angst?, M/M, The doctor is in denial about going domestic, The doctor's daughter but not the episode, at first, i dunno, original adventures, prolly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-09
Updated: 2016-11-09
Packaged: 2018-08-30 02:11:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 43,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8514643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PotatoQuinn/pseuds/PotatoQuinn
Summary: Adrian Pond wakes with no memory. She's reluctant to throw herself into the world her father drags her into. Once she remembers who she was, she wholeheartedly immerses her life into saving the universe and Earth. Other planets are saved, and friends are made.





	1. The Dead Rise

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Doctor Who fanfic, posted previously on Wattpad. It's full of spelling and grammar mistakes, because this is almost 10,000 words long and I don't have the patience to read through it a millionth time. But, enjoy the story!

Chapter One: The Dead Rise

I woke up one day in the hospital. I had no name, no birthday, no identity whatsoever. I remember the nurse brought me a mirror after I told her I didn't even know what colour my eyes were. They're blue, with little hints of silver. My hair is blonde with soft curls, except for my fringe which is more wavy than curly. When I woke up, my hair was almost as long as I was tall. Now, I don't let it get longer than mid-back. My skin was a sickly pale colour, and I looked as if I hadn't eaten in months. I'm still pale, but at least now there's some pink in my cheeks, and my weight is at a healthy number.

I spent two weeks trying to figure things out. I cut my hair, and tried to eat what I could to gain some weight. The doctors said that I had been brought in by an anonymous party, and just left there. That I had been unconscious for nearly a year. 

Everyone here called me "child", not knowing my name. Until one day there was a man. He was tall, with floppy brown hair and green eyes that seemed to know everything. He wore a Tweed jacket and a bow-tie, and he stood in my doorway with a delighted grin on his face. 

"Wha- who are you?" I blinked and sat down on my bed.

"I am the Doctor, you are Adrian, and I found you!" He swept into the room and grabbed my arm.

"Wait, what? I-" he pulled me out of the room and down the hall to a blue box that hadn't been there before. "Where did that come from? What even is that?" It stuck out in the bright white hallway. A blue wooden box, with 'police public call box' written across the top.

"She's the TARDIS!" He pulled out a key and opened the door, pushing me in. "Time And Relative Dimension In Space!"

"Did you find her, Doctor?" A voice echoed to my ears and I looked around. 

"I-it's bigger inside!" I was shocked! There was a whole room here, a lot bigger than the outside of the blue box. There was a large panel full of buttons and levers surrounding this column of light, and stairs and bridges leading farther in.

"Yes yes!" I was pushed farther in and I heard the door slam behind us. "And yes, Amy Pond! I found her!"

"Oh my God! Adrian, you're okay!" I looked over at the woman rushing to me, and had just enough time to establish that she was a red-head before I was practically tackled.

"Um, okay..." I awkwardly patted her back. "But I'm not okay. Who are you people, and why are you kidnapping me? And who's Adrian?" 

"You were right. She doesn't remember us..." the woman sounded sad as she pushed away, and looked at me with sad green eyes. Then her face hardened and she spun around to face the man. "Doctor, you fix this! I'll tell River if you don't!"

In this little bit of time, I managed to realize that the woman was Scottish and there was another man now standing nearby. "Fix... what's going on?" The second man looked a little mousy, and he went to put his arm around the woman.

"The Doctor found Adrian, but she really doesn't remember us. Which means she won't remember River." 

The second man went silent, and looked at me silently. Then all three of them looked at me, and I crossed my arms and sighed. "Look. Okay, I have no memory, but I'm fine with it, alright? Who are you and why did you kidnap me from the hospital? And please stop lookin' at me with those sad sad eyes!" I scowled and wiggled my toes. I had been pulled so quickly, I was still in my plain white PJ's and barefoot. "And who's River?"

The man in the bow-tie ran his fingers through his hair and walked to me quickly, bending down to my level. He was a couple feet taller than me. "I am so so sorry, Adrian. We didn't kidnap you. I'm your father."

"Huh? My... How..." I blinked and shook my head.

"Yes, for your last seventeen years. Since you were born." The man in the bow-tie placed his hands on my shoulders and squeezed lightly. "Although I've only been looking after you for a couple years..."

"Maybe we should go somewhere... get something to eat." The woman cut in as I was still trying to process what this man had just told me. He was my father? 

"Right. Food. Um, first things first, Amy can you take her to the wardrobe and get her some clothes? I'll fly us somewhere with good food." The bow-tie man clapped his hands and spun around, and I just blinked.

"Alright. Adrian? Come on, you need actual clothes..." the redhead gently gripped my wrist and pulled me down a corridor. 

After about half an hour, I was standing in front of a mirror in new clothes. I wore a simple red tee that showed off my midsection, a black plaid mini skirt, and a black leather jacket with lots of zippers. A pair of black combat boots encased my feet, and a pair of black fingerless gloves enveloped my hands. A black collar like necklace rested on my neck. 

"There. Cute!" She smiled and put her hands on my shoulders. Then she led me back to where the men were. She pulled my hair back to cascade down my back. "All dressed! Where are we at? I'm sure Adrian is hungry."

The 'doctor' character smiled softly before he clapped his hands and turned to the doors. "Right! Come along, lunch awaits!"

We all followed him off the ship and to a quaint little place in a quaint little town. It was chilly, and I was thankful I had the jacket on. I looked around the place once we were inside, and noticed first thing a lot of coca-cola... things everywhere. Two pool tables, a jukebox, and a door that just sat there, by itself. Amy and the other man went to the counter in the back and apparently ordered food. 

The man who claimed to be my father sat at a table with a lot of chairs. A man sat at one of the other tables, a scattering of cups, plates and napkins spread around him. He wore a black shirt, and black plaid shorts. His hair was shaggy, brown with blonde highlights, and reached past his ears. Instead of trying to figure out why I felt completely at home following this madman around, I spent my time staring at the man. 

"Doctor, How do you plan on fixing this?" Amy sat in a chair next to me and started playing with my hair, probably not even noticing. I decide to let her, mostly because as unsafe as I had felt at the hospital, I felt safe with her.

I would have started listening, but another man walked in and slapped the first one's hand. This one was dark haired and wore ripped skinny jeans and a black T-shirt with some band logo on it. He had the beginnings of a beard. A girl jogged up to them and hugged them both. She had long dark waves and wore very blue jeans and a red plaid shirt.

Then, the door opened and I turned to see a woman with blonde space hair walk in. She smiled and looked around. "Hello sweeties."

The madman next to me sputtered. "Ah, R- River!"

~T~A~R~D~I~S~~

I shifted in my seat and grabbed the cup Rory had set in front of me. I sipped the fizzy drink through the straw and stood up. I did not want to be around when this went down. I licked my lips and went to the jukebox, looking to see if they had anything I had heard while I was still in that hospital. I found a song, and turned to ask someone for a quarter. 

"That's what happened!? I had asked, and you said spoilers..." the blonde woman was standing near my supposed father, hands on her hips.

I sighed and leaned against the machine, sipping my drink. I watched them for a moment, these adults that I didn't remember. The Doctor looked sheepish and this River woman looked pissed as hell. Amy and Rory seemed to be attempting to calm the blonde down. 

"Your parents divorced?" The girl that wore plaid sauntered up to me and leaned over.

I looked her over and shrugged. "I dunno. I've got amnesia. You think she's my mum?" I looked back at the others, who were all now talking very loudly.

"Well yeah. You look just like her." She smirked.

"Is this wacko bothering you?" I looked up to see the two guys standing in front of us. "Cause she'll stop." The one talking was the dark haired one.

"I'm not bothering her." The girl threw her arm around my shoulders. Which wasn't difficult, seeing as I was shorter than her. "Right? I'm Cali, by the way. Well, Calico. Calico Emerson."

"Um, Adrian, I think. At least, that's what they were calling me." I motioned to the Doctor and his friends.

The dark haired guy grinned and held out his hand. "Cauden Brisby." I stared at his hand.

"Kourtland Phillips." The other guy waved, grinning as well. 

I smiled and sipped more of my drink. "Pleased to meet you. And no, you're not bothering me."

"Where are you from?" Kourtland cocked his head to the side, and my heartbeat sped up a little. 

"Um, I have no idea, actually." I felt my cheeks get hot and I avoided their gazes. "I woke up two weeks ago with amnesia." I bit my lip and played with the straw in my cup. 

"Hmm. Sounds British." Cauden crossed his arms and I could feel his gaze on my face.

"Actually, she's part Scottish!" Rory was suddenly next to me, my arm in his gentle grip. "Adrian, you shouldn't stroll too far off."

"Uh, sorry. Didn't think the jukebox was that far away." I managed a smile at my new friends as I was pulled away.

"And you shouldn't talk to people you don't know." He continued scolding me, and I felt an anger building. "They could be dangerous."

"I don't know you! How can you tell me who I can and can't talk to! I have no memory!" I yanked my arm away and glared at him, the Doctor, and Amy. "You're all strangers!" I felt tears in my eyes. 

"Adrian..." the blonde woman reached for me and I pulled away.

"I don't know you." I shook my head and turned, leaving the building. Before I could stop them, tears spilled down my cheeks. I chewed on my lip and walked to a nearby table, sitting down and burying my head in my arms. I had myself a good sobbing, and didn't notice that anyone had followed me until I felt someone rub my back. I sat up and quickly wiped my hands down my face, trying to rid it of tears. I glanced over and saw the blonde woman. "So," my voice croaked a bit, so I cleared my throat. "So who are you to me?"

I could see her sad smile in the corner of my eye. "I'm your mum." She reached up and took a lock of my hair in her fingers, playing with it a bit.

I nodded, sniffling. "I'm sorry I don't remember. And I'm sorry I was rude, before."

"None of it was your fault! Dear girl, from what I heard, I'm just thankful you're alive!" She chuckled a bit, and I felt fingers on my cheek. She gently pulled my face towards her and I looked in her eyes. "You went through so much."

I managed a weak smile, even though my lip trembled. Ugh, I was so tired of all this bawling. I wondered for a moment, whether I cried this much before or not. "Did I? Every time I try and remember what happened, I get this splitting headache and I pass out. So I don't think about it." I rubbed my temple, feeling the ghost pain of the last time I tired to remember. 

The woman, my mother, ran her fingers through my hair. She was staring off onto space for a moment, it seemed. Then suddenly, she was looking right at me again. "You know, you can trust us. Your father, and Amy and Rory. And me."I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat, and blinked back more tears. "We're all your family. Even the two crazy ones." She smiled warmly.

"What do you mean?" I cocked my head to the side.

"Amy and Rory are my parents. That's why they seem overprotective." She tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. I scrunched my nose, confused. "I know they don't look old. They're not. It's..."

"A bunch of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff, right?" I looked up to see Amy standing there. My cheeks reddened at the thought that I had been rude to my grandparents, old or not. I looked back down at the table in front me.

"Right. A bit confusing, unless you've lived it." The two women shared a laugh, and Amy- my grandmother- sat on my other side.

"I'm sorry. Rory can be a bit, overwhelming. He doesn't mean to be." Amy put her hand on my arm and squeezed it. 

I stayed quiet, playing with some of the zippers on my jacket. There were so many people in my life, so suddenly. It kind of made me nervous. I chewed my lip and stood up. "I'm... gonna go for a little walk. I won't go too far, alright? I just... need to think." I attempted a shaky smile and started down the street.

I found myself in a small park, with a swing set and a few other play equipment... things. I went to the swings and sat on the nearest one. My feet barely brushed the ground by the time I got on there, so I just sat.

"Hey baby, why the sad face, you know I could make you smile!" I started and looked to my right, seeing a man. He wore faded blue jeans and a gray wife-beater that hugged his torso.

"Excuse me?" I blinked. What the bloody hell was he saying? 

He grinned and placed his feet on the seat of the swing next to me, standing up on it. "Yolo you know! Just saying! And I'll take care of you." He winked, his grin widening.

"What are you talking about?"  I scrunched my eyebrows and looked up at him, confused. Was this some sort of language?

He shook his head and chuckled, his eyes softening. "You're really... innocent, aren't you?" He swung himself down to sit on the swing. "I'm Ronnie Lyons." He held out his hand.

I saw a television program once, where someone did that and the other person placed their hand on the first person's. It didn't make any sense, but I decided to copy that and held my hand out. "Um, I'm Adrian." 

He took my hand in his and squeezed it for a moment. "No last name?"

I shrugged and looked down at my boots. "I dunno. I woke up two weeks ago with no name. Then my supposed father showed up a few hours ago and... " I stopped, tears welling up. I pulled my hand away and gripped the swing's chains.

"And?" He prodded, trying to get more out of me. I shook my head. "So, you have no memory?"

"That's right. I don't know who I am, I don't know where I'm from. I don't know why I speak like this, while everyone else sounds different. Except my mum and dad and grandparents." I stopped and bit my lip, hating the tears that escaped and dripped off my chin.

"Hey! God, I didn't mean to make you cry!" Ronnie was suddenly in front of me, kneeling down and looking up at me. "Hey, Adrian, nevermind all that. You don't need to worry about your past, just focus on the now." He reached uo and wiped my tears away, and I felt my cheeks get warm. I swallowed back the tears and attempted a smile. "See? I told you I could make you smile!"

I had finally calmed down after a few more minutes. Ronnie and I sat on the swings for awhile, and were soon joined by Cali, Kourtland, and Cauden. 

"Sorry if we seemed rude earlier. These two can be... childish." Kourtland grinned at his friends. 

"I am not childish!" Cauden frowned and narrowed his eyes. Then he relaxed. "I prefer the term, immature." He winked at me, and I blinked back. What was all this winking? Did they all have a tick, or something in their eye? 

"It's alright. I don't mind." I smiled a little, avoiding their gazes.

"These kids were rude to you?" Ronnie stood uo and glared at them all. I blinked again and stood up, not knowing what to do. "Want me to make sure they leave you alone?"

"Wait, what? I just said..."

"She said it was fine, dude. Calm down." Cauden scowled and crossed his arms. "And who are you calling kids? I'm older than you, Lyons!"

I backed away from the two men, freaking out. As I was walking backwards like a complete idiot, I stumbled over something and landed hard on my arse. "Oof!" 

The whole group noticed and was surrounding me in less than two seconds. "Adrian! Are you alright?" Calico offered her hand to help me up.

"Y-yeah. I just... tripped. On something." I placed my hand in hers and she helped me up, dusting me off. I crouched down in front of the object I had tripped over, cocking my head to the side. "What is this?" 

It looked like a strange box, with some shapes sticking out. Levers and buttons were wired on. I reached into my pocket for something, but found it empty. "Um, hey, Cali, can you go get the- my dad?"

"Yeah, sure." I barely noticed that he left as I studied this strange contraption. 

I carefully moved my hand around it's parameter, looking for anything else strange. Right as I was about to touch it, I heard: "Don't touch it!" I gasped and looked up, seeing the madman with a bow-tie towering above me. He pulled out a strange device, long and slender with a light at the end. He crouched down and aimed the device at the contraption, and a strange sound emitted from it. "Hmm. Interesting."

"What is?" I looked from the device to the Doctor, confused. "And what is that?"

"Sonic screwdriver. And this seems to be emitting a signal somewhere..." he stood up suddenly, pulling me up with him. He held the sonic screwdriver out in front of him and pressed a button. "Come along, Adrian! We'll find where this is coming from..." he took off walking quickly, and I followed along. 

I might not have any memory, but I was curious to see what that contraption was. 

"Doctor? What kind of signal?" I glanced up to see my mum, Amy and Rory following us, with my new friends behind them.

"A strange one." The Doctor continued down the street and to a house. It was a normal sized house, I supposed. These were the only houses I remembered seeing up close. 

"Um, I don't think we can just walk in..." I tried to reason with him, but there was no reasoning with the Doctor.

"Hello? Anybody home?" He at least knocked on the door before going in. I stayed right on his heels. "Well, what are you?"

"What is what?" I came up directly behind him and gripped his jacket as I looked around him. I barely managed to bite back a scream. The only person in the house was a dead girl. She stood in front of us, her skin a sickly blue. Her lips parted and a smoky white substance swirled from her, curling in the air. "Dad, what is that?"

"Something alien. How fun!" He spun and walked out, pushing me through everyone. "Nope nope! Everyone out! Highly dangerous being inside!" He continued to push until everyone was outside. He pushed me until I stood with my new friends.

"What's in there? A serial killer or a coyote or something?" Cauden put an arm on my shoulder. 

"How can a coyote get inside a house?" Ronnie scoffed and pulled me away from Cauden, running his hands up and down my arms. "Are you okay, Adrian?"

It was Cauden's turn to scoff, and he pulled me away from Ronnie. "Of course she's okay. She's standing here, isn't she?" 

"Hey! Mines bigger, so you guys are fighting for nothing!" Cali pulled me away and pushed me behind her. "God! Men!" She shook her head and looped her arm in mine. 

"Thanks. That was confusing." I scrunched my nose, and we walked over to where my parents and Amy and Rory were standing, talking. "What was that, in the house?" I looked up at them all.

"Not positive. But it looked familiar. I need to get to the TARDIS..." he took off walking again, and my mum turned to me.

"So who's this?" She smiled.

"Calico Emerson." The girl smiled. 

"She's my friend. They all are." I stared at my mother, trying to keep my face as blank as possible. 

"Right." River smiled and nodded, looking at the three guys behind us. "I know." She turned to follow the Doctor, her hands in her pockets. 

I blinked, then shrugged. "Okay then."

Cali giggled. "Ooh, what's that?" She stared open-mouthed at the TARDIS.

"That's the TARDIS." I smiled. "I can trust you, right?" She managed a nod and I laughed. "She's my dad's... ship." I stepped forward and opened the door, stepping in. "Come on!"

"Whoa! It's... " Cali gaped.

"It's bigger on the inside!" Kourtland finished.

Ronnie and Cauden snickered, and Ronnie mumbled something that sounded like "he said". 

I giggled at them all and made my way to the main console in the middle, where my family stood. "Did you figure out what it is?" I looked up at the Doctor and my mother, curious. 

"It's an alien race that's made up of mist... or rather, a misty substance." My mother stared at a screen while the Doctor pushed some buttons. 

"From the planet Kumako..." the Doctor mumbled. There was a ding, and he spun to a microwave looking box. "Ah! Perfect!" He opened it and pulled out another sonic screwdriver, all shiny and brand new. "Here, Adrian! Don't lose this one, you'll not get another!" He thrust it into my hands.

"Um..." I held it up and looked it over, a grin stretching my lips. "Thanks! I think my body remembers more than my brain. I was reaching for this earlier, I think."

The Doctor stopped and stared at me intently. "Interesting." He fixed his bow-tie and spun around again, leaving the TARDIS.

"Your dad?" Ronnie threw his arm over my shoulders, staring after the Doctor.

"Apparently." I sighed.

"He seems..."

"Eccentric?" Cali appeared on my other side. 

"Sure." Ronnie nodded.

"Adrian, your family is awesome!" Kourtland practically smashed into Cali, almost knocking her to the floor.

"They're fun. Too bad you can't remember them." Cauden seemed to blurt that out. "Sorry."

"Don't be. I'm sorta thinking the same thing." I smiled at him, taking a deep breath. "Let's go investigate." We made our way back outside and to the contraption. "Why is it out here?" I crouched down again, leaning as close as I could to the boxy device, pulling out my new sonic screwdriver and aiming it at the thing. I pressed the button and studied my sonic. "Hmmm."

"What? What is that, any way?" Kourtland was crouched next to me, staring at me.

I waved my sonic in his face before leaning forward again. "Sonic screwdriver!" Duh! I leaned forward more, trying to get a better look at a wire I thought was out of place.

"Whoa! Easy, there!" I felt hands grip my shoulders and glanced back to see Cauden. 

I smiled and turned back to the device. "Thanks! I need to see where this goes..." I moved some grass away to find a wire running through it. "It's a green wire, which explains why I hadn't noticed it before." I eased back and stood up, grinning at my friends. "Now, my friends, the mystery starts!"

~~T~A~R~D~I~S~~

I followed Kourtland, Cauden and Ronnie closely as they crawled after the wire I had discovered. Kourtland shook his hair out of his eyes for the millionth time and sat back. "Why are we the ones on our knees?"

"Because I'm in a skirt, and I asked you to help me?" I smiled sweetly and crossed my arms. "And you'll be a hero if you help us find the source of that contraption."

"Good point." He grinned as he went back to chasing the wire. 

It didn't take long to figure out that it went to a nearby house. The green wire turned gray, and was wired into a satellite dish on the roof. As soon as I spotted that, I spun around to see where my parents were. I spotted my mum walking to the contraption. "Mum! Over here!"

She looked up, shocked, before making her way to us. "Adrian. You-"

"That lever-filled box has a wire that leads to this house." I pointed out what I meant.

"That's weird." Her eyebrows scrunched and she leaned close to the house to see better. 

"Isn't it?" I leaned closer as well, trying to think of why that wire would lead here. I heard a giggle and a click, and looked up to see Calico holding up a slim black... thing.

"You two looked so much alike right then, I had to take a picture!" She grinned and held up the other side, which showed a picture of my mother and me, looking like carbon copies minus the hair. Mine was a bit frizzy, but more like waves than curls. 

I blinked and looked at my mother, who smirked. "Yeah, she's a real mini-me." I felt my cheeks become warm, and I smiled at her. I might not remember her, but it was clear she was my mother. "Feel better, now?"

I bit my lip and nodded. "Yeah. Especially now that I've got something to solve."

"Fun, isn't it?" I turned to see the Doctor, Amy and Rory standing there. Rory was eying my friends, a scowl on his face.

"Yes! Lots!" I laughed and gestured to my friends. "I had the guys follow the wire on the ground. It's wired into that satellite dish up there." I pointed at the dish.

"Yes. I followed it with my sonic. Strange..." he started circling the house.

"Isn't it?" I repeated and followed him, looking for a place to climbed up.

"Wait, you could have used your... sonic screwdriver to follow it?" Kourtland pouted,and I smirked.

"Guess so. Sorry. Thanks." I grinned and winked at Cali, who was trying not to laugh. I spun, suddenly remembering; "I need to change!" I jogged to the TARDIS, intent on finding a pair of pants. I went in, Calico on my heels, and went straight to the wardrobe. I rummaged around til I found a pair of black jeans, and kicked my boots off to put them on. I kicked my skirt off when the jeans were buttoned, and put my boots back on, tucking the jeans into the tops of them. 

"Whoa! There's so many..." Cali spun around, taking in all the clothes, many from different eras and planets.

"Clothes? Yeah. Come on!" I grabbed her wrist and ran back to the house, finding a spot to climb up. 

"You found the wardrobe by yourself?" The Doctor glanced at me.

"Oh. I guess I did! I didn't even think about it..." I looked at my jeans before I pulled myself up to the lowest roof, using the Doctor as a ladder. I made it to the roof where the satellite sat, and sat near the dish. I pulled out my sonic and aimed it, pressing the button. "Dad! There's something wrong..."

He was next to me in no time, scanning the satellite with his own sonic. "Yes, this is wrong. The wire... "

I leaned closer to the satellite and squinted. "Yes, the wire..." I tried to lean closer, and lost my balance. "Oh, hell!" I toppled over and slid, hit air, then something that did not feel like the ground.

"What the hell are you doing on my cousin's roof?" The thing I had landed on sounded grumpy, so I quickly rolled off.

"Sorry! Um..." I looked up and grabbed Cauden's hand. He pulled me up and I panicked, hiding my face in his chest.

"Yes, there was a problem with the satellite. I'm John Smith, from the cable company..." I peeked out to see my father flash a piece of paper at the man who had caught me. "And that's my assistant, Adrian Smith. She's shy."

I pushed away from Cauden, my cheeks really warm. "Um, yea, sorry." I avoided gazes, and elbowed Cali in the ribs. She was snickering at me. I started edging away, heading towards the three that were hurrying towards us. 

"Adrian! Are you okay?" My mother got to me first, hugging me.

"What were you doing on the roof?" Amy was next, checking me over for injuries.

"What was the Doctor doing, letting you up there?" Rory pulled me away from my mother and looked me over before hugging me.

"Ah, I'm okay... can't breathe..." I pushed him away and took a deep breath. "I climbed up before dad could stop me. Then I fell off. I'm fine." I smiled and turned to find Cauden, Cali and Kourtland behind me. Behind them, Ronnie was staring intently at the man I had landed on. "So who is he?"

Kourtland glanced at the people behind him and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Jesse Cole, I think. He lived here a few years ago, and is probably visiting his cousins. He's 24, and would probably like Ronnie better than you. If you know what I mean." He winked and shook his head, grinning.

I cocked my head to the side and frowned. "No, I don't think I know what you mean." 

Kourtland pulled out a slim black... object, a lot like the one Cali had earlier. He messed with it for a minute before holding it up. On it was two men, lips locked. He touched the surface of the device and another picture appeared, one of....I felt my cheeks grow warm yet again as I pushed the device away. "That's what I mean!" He laughed.

Cali smacked him and put her arms around me. "Kourtland! Don't corrupt her, She's still innocent!"

He just laughed harder. "Wha- what I mean is, Jesse likes di-" SMACK! he fell to the ground, still laughing.

"I'd thank you to watch your language, young man!" Amy scowled at the howling boy on the ground, hands on her hips.

~~T~A~R~D~I~S~~

I decided to let my parents and grandparents handle the whole situation, especially since they allowed me to go with my friends. Rather, they allowed me to talk with them while they figured things out. I was sitting on the floor in between Cali and Ronnie, across from Cauden, who sat next to Kourtland. Mum and Dad sat at a table nearby with Amy, Rory, and Jesse.

"Ow..." Kourtland was massaging a read hand shaped welt on his cheek.

"Yeah, sorry about her... they're all kind of protective over me..." I grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, why?" He pouted and I giggled. 

"I dunno. Probably because the madman and the blonde are my parents, and the other two are my grandparents." I looked over at the subjects of our conversation, and my mum looked back and winked at me. I smiled and turned to Kourtland. He looked very confused. "It's a long story, and I don't even know the whole of it."

Cali sighed and shook her head. "Sorry about him. He's been like that as long as I can remember."

"You've known each other awhile, then?" I decided I needed to get the focus off me.

Cali nodded and kicked at Kourtland. "Yeah. Kourt and I are best friends. And we've known Cauden and Ronnie since Kourt was in middle school." She grinned at the other two.

"That must be nice. Wait, so how old are you lot?" I looked at them all.

Ronnie grinned. "I'm 21."

Kourtland waved with the hand that wasn't on his cheek. "22."

Cauden looked up at me and smiled. "23."

Cali sighed and laid her chin on her knees. "I'm 19. How old are you?"

I blinked and thought. Earlier, the Doctor had said he'd been my father for seventeen years so... "17? I think... my dad said something like that earlier."

"You're so young!" Kourtland gaped at me until Cali kicked him again.

"You really are. But you are more mature than some of us." Cali glared at her best friend.

I smiled and fiddled with a zipper on my jacket. I turned to look at the table again, trying to hear what was being said. 

"Yes yes! Something strange!" The Doctor waved his hands around and nodded.

"You mean other than a teenager on my cousin's roof?" Jesse scoffed and ran his hands through his blonde hair. "Or a madman wearing a bow-tie?"

"Oi! Don't hate on the bow-tie! Bow-ties are cool!" I laughed as my father fiddled with his bow-tie, frowning.

As I stared at the bow-tie, my vision went a little blurry, and I remembered something....

~~  
My father glared out the window, Rory's phone in hand. "You get back here!" He was practically yelling at them. The aliens, that is. When he hung up, he ran to the room where they kept the patients' clothes and rifled trough them. I copied him, looking to get out of the ratty clothes I wore.

Once we were redressed, the Doctor headed out. "Keep up, Adrian!" He grinned, looking like a little kid at Christmas. Wearing a tweed jacket and a bow-tie.

I followed my father up to the roof, and stopped directly behind him. He'd brought the aliens back, and they stared at us with their giant eye. "Alright! The Doctor is in!" He fixed his bow-tie and fiddled with his tweed jacket.  
~~

I tried to remember more, but a sharp pain ripped through my head. "Argh!" I gripped my head tightly and leaned forward, trying to make it stop. I heard a screech, a scream of pain, and then I saw black.

~~T~A~R~D~I~S~~

"Adrian! Come on, wake up!" I heard a Scottish accent, and felt fingers caress my cheeks. I managed to open my eyes, looking directly into a pair of concerned green eyes, framed by soft red hair. "Oh thank God!" Amy pulled me up and hugged me tightly. 

"She's okay?" I was pulled away and immediately in my mother's arms. "Was that a flashback? You tried to remember something, right?"

I nodded, as much as I could and clutched onto her. "It hurt so bad... mum..." I buried my face in her neck. 

"What did you remember? Can you tell us?" I opened my eyes to see my father, looking really worried. 

"Um, yeah. I think it was when you first started wearing bow-ties." I blinked and pulled away from my mother. "There were aliens, with giant eyes. And and, dad used grandpa's phone... to call-"

"-them back, yes. That was awhile ago..." Rory was standing next to Amy, his arm around her waist.

I focused on breathing, trying to relax my grip on my mother's jacket. It wasn't working so well. I looked around and found my new friends all staring at me. "I- I'm sorry." My cheeks got warm and I looked down. 

"Hey, don't apologize!" I looked up to see Cauden looking down at me, his brown eyes soft. "You got a memory back, right? Even if it wasn't major, you still got it back." I looked down again, or would have if he hadn't taken my chin in his hand. 

"Yeah. But I was embarrassing..." I licked my lips as my blush deepened. I continued looking onto his eyes, almost getting lost in their depths.

"It's alright. You sounded like you were in a lot of pain." Cali was suddenly next to me, rubbing my arm.

"Uh-oh."  I spun my head around to look at my father, eyes wide. "Your scream attracted some uh, unwelcome visitors..." 

This time, when I tried, I finally succeeded in letting go of my mums jacket. I pulled away from everybody and sprinted outside. 

"Carry? What are you doing?" Kourtland reached for a woman who was standing in the street. Her skin was pale, almost blue. A white,misty substance drifted onto the air from her parted lips.

"No! Don't touch her!" I screamed it, not meaning to. 

"I- I think She's dead!" Cali sputtered, pulling Kourtland back.

"Quite right. Well, she thinks she's dead." The Doctor scanned her with his sonic, his eyebrows wrinkled. "So her body is acting like she is. But she's not."

"What... They're all..." I couldn't catch my breath, suddenly, and I backed up. I looked away from Carry, seeing another abnormally parents person. Dead. I looked elsewhere, and found another. Dead. And another, and another, and another, all dead! My eyes watered, and I felt a sob coming on. And I turned and took off, going anywhere but here.

Dead people. Everywhere I looked there were dead people. Their pale blue-ish skin almost glowed in the light, their eyes cast in deep shadows. Their movements were stiff, muscles twitching and moving their limbs at random times. 

This was not normal. I was freaking out, sobbing uncontrollably while trying to run. Which was difficult. My vision was blurred and I was out of breath. After running for a minute, I felt an iron grip on my wrist. I blinked enough tears away to catch sight of a tweed jacket and floppy brown hair.

"Keep up, Adrian!" His English accent barely reached my ears as we ran as fast as he was going. "We need to get to the TARDIS to find that particle de-something-or-other!"

I wasn't able to answer back, but my mother cut in. "I can't believe you lost it! I told you to put it where you could find it!"

"Not yet you haven't!" Dad snapped his fingers as we neared the TARDIS and we all piled in.

I wiped my face and looked around. "Dad! What does this... thing look like?"

"It's this big... Orange-ish in colour..." he moved his hands around while he searched around the console. 

"Ah! Here it is! Good!" My mum held up a small orange thing and ran back outside. "This should shut this thing down..." she knelt in front of the contraption of levers and plugged the thing into it. 

"Wait! It's not going to kill them, right?" The Doctor knelt next to mum, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"No! Of course not! It's going to separate them from these innocent people, and send them back to where ever they came from..." she fiddled with both devices. "Hopefully..."

I stepped back and looked around. My friends were scattered about, chatting amongst themselves. They kept moving around, trying to stay away from the dead people. The dead people moved very slowly, as though they were mostly frozen.

"What is all this? I came here to visit my cousins, and the dead start walking?" Jesse was pacing around, Ronnie at his heels.

I smiled, feeling ironic. "Be thankful the Doctor is here. And my mum. They'll figure it out." 

"So you feel better, then? About... everything?" Ronnie stuck his thumbs in his belt loops and smiled.

I nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for listening to my blubbering."

Ronnie grinned and set his hand on my head. "Anytime, short stuff." He put his arm around my shoulder and hugged me... sort of. I turned and threw my arms around him and squeezed.

I pulled away and smiled at him before going and standing by my grandparents. "Is it working?" I looked around and saw that the dead people were staggering.

"I can't tell. You really okay?" Amy took hold of a lock of my hair, fiddling with it.

"Yeah. It was just a headache." I tried to brush it off. 

"A headache that made you pass out." Rory crossed his arms, frowning.

"Yeah. It's not my first one. I got them all the time after I woke up in that hospital." I looked down at my boots and fiddled with my jacket. 

None of us were paying attention to our surroundings, so we didn't see it before it was too late...

One of the dead people had wandered too close, brushing past me. It was a girl, around my own age. Her hand touched mine, and I had time to observe that her skin was icy cold before once more, darkness invaded my senses.

It was dark. Dark, and quiet. I looked around, trying to see where I was at. I didn't recognize any of it. It seemed to be a room...

It was the common room, of the orphanage I lived in for the first fifteen years of my life. I remembered that. The other kids made fun of me. My mother was in Stormcage when I was born, and I was taken from her. She got me back when she was pardoned, finally.

Images flashed before my vision. Images of my life, of my mother. When I first saw her when I was five, and they'd let her out for a short while. Well, my dad had busted her out for my birthday. We'd eaten strawberry cake and vanilla ice cream, and my favourite food, fish sticks in custard. That's Daddy's favourite too.

Images of when I'd finally been able to live with my mum. We'd celebrated the occasion by painting our rooms. Hers was TARDIS blue, and I'd painted mine a deep red.

Images of when I first met my dad, or rather, when my dad first met me. He'd been so young then, wearing a trenchcoat, with short brown hair and brown eyes. He'd taken me in, even though he didn't know me. He told me my mother was no longer of this world, and she had told him about me. It had taken me awhile to warm up to him.

Images of when we first met Amy, when she was seven years old. Dad had regenerated, becoming someone different. There had been a crack in Amy's wall, and Daddy had fixed it. 

Images of when we'd first met Rory, when Prisoner Zero had been terrorizing the town. We had arrived twelve years later, instead of five minutes. Then we were gone two years. I remember I felt terrible about that.

Images of when I saw my mother again, and I cried. I had thought she was dead, completely gone. But I figured out, I couldn't tell her. This was a past version of her, before she had...

Image after image, just floating by, showing me the life I had forgotten. And I retained it. I remembered it all, when the image had gone. 

I was having trouble catching my breath, and something was making me very cold. I looked down, and saw that my skin was a pale blue, like the dead people. A sob caught in my throat as tears welled in my eyes, and a white mist enveloped me. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I tried my hardest, opening my mouth. 

A screen appeared, and I saw my parents. My grandparents. My friends. They all stood around, staring at me with sad eyes. I blinked and tried to reach for them. My hand rose, seeking comfort from my mum and dad. They all took a step back, and I forced my mouth open. My voice wouldn't work! 'Mum! Dad! I'm still here! Help me! Help me!'

"He...lp.... mm... me!" I managed to croak out, and they all looked at me shocked. My lips moved, but I couldn't force anymore sound out.  
The mist got thicker, obscuring my view of the screen. Another picture appeared, showing me a ghostly image of my family and friends. The mist swirled around them, sucking the life out of them. The picture shifted, showing me people from all over, suffering the same fate. I realized then, that all of Earth was in danger.

I still couldn't move, my muscles were like stone. Immoveable. I managed to close my eyes and focus. I thought really hard, trying to figure out how to save the people in this town. Save the people on this planet.

I strained my mind, trying to force my body to move. Finally, I moved. My knees buckled, and I hit the floor hard. The impact knocked the air out of my lungs, and with it, the misty alien that had taken residence in my body. 

I opened my eyes, seeing the faces of my parents. I spent a minute breathing, and then I couldn't stop the smile that spread on my face. "Mum! Dad!" I laughed, tears in my eyes. "I remember! I remember all of it!"

"You remember? What do you remember?" Dad blinked down at me, and I could tell he looked nervous.

"Everything! My fifth birthday, when you took me in, when we first met grandma and grandpa..." I sat myself up, and my mum pulled me to her, crushing me.

"I- thought you were gone.." she held me with trembling arms.

"M- mum... c- can't breathe..." I gasped and sucked in oxygen when she let go.

"Sorry." She smiled and stroked my hair. "So... what did happen when your father took you in?"

I smiled at her and glanced at dad, who was still staring at me intently. "Spoilers." She smiled and I stood up, looking around. "Where are we anyway?"

"Your friend let us stay here... what was his name?" Grandpa waved his hand around from behind my parents.

"Cauden, Rory. It's not that difficult to remember." The redhead shook her head before looking at me and holding out her arms. I went to her, and they both threw their arms around me. "I'm so glad you're okay..."

I laughed and sniffed, swallowing my tears. "I'm stronger than that, you know. I am Part Pond." I grinned and pulled away. "Um, where are my friends?"

Amy smiled and pointed towards another part of the house we were in. "In the kitchen."

I walked to the back of the house, and found my four friends sitting at the table, with Jesse standing near Ronnie. I smiled, watching them for a minute before I made my presence known. Cali was slumped over in a chair, laid out on the table. Kourtland was rubbing her back, looking equally as dejected. Ronnie sat with his face in his hands, and Jesse was massaging his shoulders. Cauden sat staring at the back wall, so I couldn't see his expression. I was slightly confused as to why they were so sad. I thought it must be that some of their family members were suffering the same way I did.

I licked my lips and cleared my throat, and was almost immediately tackled by Cali. "Oh my God!" She squeezed me, then pushed me away and looked me over. "You're okay!"

I laughed and hugged her back. "Yeah, I'm okay. I am part Pond." Kourtland hugged the both of us, and then I was being crushed in strong arms. "R- Ronnie, can't.... breathe...."

"Sorry. I'm just glad you're okay, short stuff." He pushed me away and smiled. 

"It's alright. You guys were worried about me?" I looked at everyone, my confusion now apparent on my face.

"Well yeah." Kourtland rubbed the back of his neck. 

"You're our friend." Calico smiled at me, wiping tears off her face.

"But, you've only known me for a day..." I blinked at them, my cheeks flushing. They looked at each other, and then glanced back at Cauden. "What?" 

Cauden stood up and was in front of me in no time. I glanced up at him, and would have looked down, but yet again he had my chin in his fingers. He stared so intently into my eyes, and I almost didn't hear what he said. "Where did you grow up?"

"I-in an orphanage, on the planet Kodomo..." I whispered it, a memory resurfacing once again.

~~  
I was about five years old, sitting in the common room at the orphanage. The other kids were playing amongst themselves, ignoring me like always. Kids from all over the universe, and they all chose me to hate. 

A boy broke away from the others, and sat down in front of me. He had dark brown eyes,and longish dirty blonde hair. He looked to be about nine or ten. "Why are you over here by yourself?" He looked intently at me, cocking his head to the side. 

"The others don't like me. Because my mummy is in prison." I blinked, stating the fact. 

"So?" He shrugged, then smiled. "My name's Cauden."

"I'm Adrian." I smiled. 

From then on, for two or three years, he looked out for me, made sure the other kids left me alone.  
~~

"You're...." I couldn't find the words. "You're that boy, the one that stood up for me..."

He grinned, and cupped my face in his hands. "Yeah." He pushed my hair back and laughed. "You finally remember." 

I smiled, gripping his arms. "Where did you go?"

"They found an aunt of mine, and I arrived here when I was twelve." He leaned his forehead on mine. "I'm sorry. I had said I would always be there, to protect you." His smile softened. "You were so little. Now look at you, all grown up."

"Yeah. You dyed your hair." I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair. It was softer than I thought it would be. Tears threatened, and I tried to swallow them back. "I missed you so much, when you left. I can't believe I found you!" I traced his jaw line, and I realized that we were both grown up. My cheeks flushed and I licked my lips, biting the bottom one. 

"Hey. You're alright. You found me. I can protect you again." He stroked my cheek and pulled my lip out of the grip of my teeth. 

"Cauden..." I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him, and my hearts skipped a beat each when his arms enveloped me. 

"Aww!" I heard a couple of my friends, but stayed where I was. Until I heard someone clear their throat from near the doorway.

I pulled away, just enough to see my mum standing there, a smirk on her lips. I blushed deeply and blinked. "Um, h- How much did you..."

"From 'you were so little', I think." Her smile widened. "Your father needs your help."

~~T~A~R~D~I~S~~ 

"You ready?" My dad fixed his bow-tie and grinned down at me. He ignored the man attached to my hand.

I took a deep breath and squeezed Cauden's hand, making sure I had a comfortable grip on my sonic. "Yeah. Let's save the world, dad!"

He licked his lips and nodded, aiming his sonic towards the contraption. "Geronimo!" 

We were standing on Cauden's roof, far away from the possessed people. There was a group of them surrounding the box of levers, all stone faced and pale blue. 

The plan was to activate the particle device from here, and boost the signal to disrupt the signal that little contraption seemed to be putting out. Dad's sonic would activate the device, mine would boost the signal.

I licked my lips and aimed my sonic after checking to make sure it was on the right setting. Dad held up three fingers, glancing back at me. He put one down, than another. Then he pointed at the group of not dead dead people, and I pressed the button on my sonic screwdriver.

There was a pop as the particle device activated, and then a high pitched whine as the signal was boosted. After almost a full minute, the group of people collapsed on the ground, and the misty aliens swirled into the air.

"Keep boosting that signal!" My dad shouted, the whine having gotten quite loud. Finally, the alien substance dispersed and shot into the sky. The force was so much, a wind kicked up and blew our clothes around. 

As I stared at the sky, watching as the invaders left Earth, the wind picked up. I would have stayed standing, but I was pulled down into a crouch. I gasped and glanced up, seeing Cauden covering me. I smiled at him, almost laughing. We had saved the humans once again!

ⓣⓐⓡⓓⓘⓢ

"Oh my God, this pizza is delicious!" I spoke with my mouth half full, finally enjoying the food we had come to eat.

"Isn't it?" Cali grinned and bit into a piece of her own. "The best in Michigan, I swear!"

My parents and grandparents all agreed.to eat before we left, and my friends joined us. The little pizza place seemed full, with all of us inside. Cauden sat next to me, chatting with my family. Every few minutes, he would glance at me and wink or smile. He kept his arm around me, most of the time. My dad kept glaring at him, though.

"I think you should stay here, Adrian." My dad crossed his arms and stared at me, his face serious. That's what freaked me out, was the seriousness in his gaze. My dad was never serious. My stomach dropped and I started freaking out.

"What?" I put my pizza down and glared at the madman sitting across from me. "What do you mean stay?" Tears gathered in my eyes, and my lip trembled.

"I mean stay here on Earth. It's not safe for you to be traveling with me." He wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"No. I- no!" I stood up and backed away, shaking my head. "I can't go through that again!" The loneliness, the worry that I was never going to see my parents again... "Please don't make me!"

"Adrian..." my dad stood and stared at me, disbelief written across his features.

"Please, Daddy! I can't.... I can't live not knowing..." I was having trouble catching my breath, and tears blurred my vision. "Daddy, please don't leave me behind!"

"Adrian, sweetheart..." my mum was suddenly in front of me, cupping my face in her hands. "Look at me! No ones getting left behind, okay?" She pulled me to her and held me, and I clutched onto her for dear life. "Right? Doctor? Tell her, you're not leaving anyone behind."

I was gasping for oxygen, and I felt as if I was shutting down. I would have collapsed if my mother wasn't right there.

"Th- that's right." Dad was next to us, moving my hair to look at me. "I won't leave you here, I'm sorry. I should have never even thought about it. It was a silly idea..."

I was still having trouble breathing, so I didn't say anything. I turned my face away, and saw that Cauden was on the other side. I guess mum saw too, because I was promptly placed in his arms. She took hold of my dad's jacket and dragged him outside.

"Hey hey! Adrian, breathe!" Cauden held my cheeks and forced me to look at him. "You're alright, everyone's safe!"

I managed a nod, and took a breath. I noticed that Cali, Kourtland, Ronnie and Jesse all stood around me. I blinked and finally took a deep breath. "I- I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me..." And then I was being hugged from all sides. Despite the freak out I had just done, I smiled. Humans were an affectionate bunch. 

→Outside/ third person POV←

River glared at her husband, her arms crossed. "You were planning on leaving her here?" She grit her teeth.

"Not... forever..." the Doctor pushed hands through his hair. "She almost died, River! She's not safe with me!"

"She's your daughter! She's safest with you, not apart from you!" The blonde started pacing, getting worked up. "She's been with you for awhile, there are enemies that would jump at the chance to get to you through her!"

"River, what if we compromised?" The Doctor crossed his arms and almost pouted. "I'll stay near Earth, and only for a month or so. Let her have some time off to relax and calm down." By now, the madman was holding River's arms, trying to make her see his side.

"Doctor... you really want to leave her alone? You have to take me back to Stormcage, and my parents back to 1940..." she placed her hands on his chest.

"She won't be alone. She's got her friends." He noticed she was just worried, so he pulled his wife close and wrapped his arms around her. "And, I put a special setting on her sonic. She's only got to set it and push the button, and I'll be notified if she's in any danger." 

River hugged the Doctor, burying her face in his shoulder. "Promise? Just for a month. She... she won't be able to handle longer." She looked up at him, completely vulnerable.

"I promise. Just a month." The Doctor smiled lovingly at his mate, cupping her cheek. He leaned in and kissed her, pouring his feelings out. "I'll get her back on the TARDIS in a month."

"Mmm. Then you shouldn't do any time traveling til then." She mumbled against his lips, starting to feel least worried.

"Right. I won't." The Doctor held her for a minute longer.


	2. Where Are the Children?

Chapter Two: Where Are the Children?

I sighed as I laid on the couch, fiddling with my sonic screwdriver. It had been three-and-a-half weeks since my dad had forced me on this... vacation. Not that I was complaining. This had given me an opportunity to get to know my friends better. To get closer to Cauden. Who was currently at work.

I decided to go for a walk, just to get some air and enjoy the little town I was in. I went to the bedroom and grabbed my favourite jacket, the black leather with all the zippers. I pulled my combat boots on and headed out the door, leaving a note in case Cauden came home before he saw me. 

It was gray and cloudy out, the air held a certain chill. It felt nice, the cool breeze on my heated skin. I was just getting over a human cold, my fever had broke the day before.

"Hey Adrian! Feeling better?" The neighbor waved from the porch next door.

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Rooks!" I smiled at the elderly neighbor and continued on my way. I'd been here for only a few weeks, but the residents already knew me. Most of them were kind.

I walked towards the library, having Cauden's library card in my pocket. He had returned the book I finished yesterday, and I was in need of another.

I got halfway there when I ran into someone. Literally, I smacked right into a human, and almost fell. Strong arms caught hold of me, steadying me. "Whoa! Adrian, what are you doing outside?"

I opened my eyes to stare right into Cauden's brown orbs. "I need a new book to read." I blinked at him and smiled.

"You're just getting over a cold. You could get sick again!" He placed the back of his hand on my forehead, feeling for a fever I suppose.

"I'm not sick anymore." I pulled out much sonic and set it to scan. I scanned myself and showed him the results. "See? I'm alright. Plus I wasn't planning on staying out for long." I pouted, knowing he was going into protective mode. 

He sighed and cupped my face in his hands. I noticed he seemed to like doing that. He looked me over, probably looking for any signs that I was still sick. "I'll go with you, then." He kissed my forehead and took my hand.

"Okay!" I grinned and we started for the library again. "How was work?" I looked up at him.

"It was alright. Long day." He smiled at me as we came to the front doors of the library. He pulled the door open and held it for me.

"Why thank you, good sir!" I giggled and went in, stopping and waiting for him to take my hand again. 

He did take my hand, and he pulled me to a stop. "What book were you planning on looking for?"

"I dunno. Maybe something on history..." I had been reading up on human's interpretation of Earth's history, comparing it to what I knew. "I read American history last time. I'm thinkin' British history this time..." as I was rambling on like an idiot, Cauden was pulling me along towards the back of the building, where the history section was. I noticed this, and started looking through the books that were shelved.

"You really like your history, huh?" He chuckled and leaned close, looking at the books I was scanning.

"Yea. I like to see how much human's got wrong. Nine times out of ten, my dad was involved." I caught sight of a certain book on the top shelf and reached up. That's how I figured out that I was much too short.

"Here. This one?" Cauden moved so that he was directly behind me, and reached up for the book I wanted.

"Yea." I was breathless. I could feel the heat from his body radiating off him, his other hand was on my shoulder. He pulled the book down, and I turned around. He didn't move back, but handed me the book. "Thanks." I could feel the heat in my cheeks as the backs of his fingers brushed my hair away.

He leaned in close, his face a centimetre away. My breath caught, and I clutched the book to my chest. His fingers caressed my face, and then tangled in my hair as he closed in. He whispered, "Adrian..."

"Yes?" Was my breathless answer. His lips touched mine, and I completely forgot where we were. My eyes closed of their own accord, and I put the book on the shelf behind me before wrapping my arms around his neck. Our lips moved in sync, and I gasped when he bit my lip.

His hands moved to my waist, pulling me as close as he could as he slipped his tongue between my lips. My cheeks reddened, and I ran my fingers through his hair.

I heard a click and an "Aww!" and we pulled away to see Calico and Kourtland standing in the aisle. Kourtland was snickering and Cali was grinning, her phone in her hand. I blushed harder and buried my face in Cauden's chest. 

"Bloody hell, guys!" I mumbled, and I felt more than heard Cauden chuckle. I groaned and smacked his chest once, avoiding looking at the others.

"You two are so cute!" Cali snickered, and I pulled away to glare at her. It turned into more of a pout, and she giggled. Which made me smile.

I turned in Cauden's arms and picked up the book I wanted to read, and we all made our way to the front counter. Cauden kept his arm around me, holding me close to him. I tried to get to the library card in my pocket, but he wouldn't move. "Which pocket is it in?" He grinned down at me.

I sighed, defeated. "It's in the right, back pocket of my jeans..." I blushed as he slid his hand down into my back pocket, the palm of his hand cupping my arse. I shivered and grit my teeth,and he chuckled at me.

He handed the card to the librarian, and we were on our way out in no time. We passed the elementary school, and I noticed it was eerily quiet. Cali noticed too, because she pulled out her phone. "What time is it?"

Kourtland threw her a funny look and pulled his phone out. "3:36p.m. Why?"

"Shouldn't there be kids running around?" 

There should be kids running around. It was Wednesday, and this is the time school usually let out. "Yea, this is weird..."

The school looked deserted, and I was almost positive that today wasn't a holiday. I looked around, trying to see something that would explain this. 

I saw nothing to help.

I squeezed Cauden's hand, freaking myself out. "Maybe, I dunno, there was an early dismissal..." I tried to reason, to make up excuses that all the kids in that school were gone. 

"I don't think so. We would have heard something..." Kourtland shook his head.

I sighed and headed towards the school, pulling the psychic paper out that my dad had given me. The front door was unlocked, and I made my way to the office. Which wasn't hard to find, seeing as it said "Office" right above the door. I knocked and let myself in, finding a panicked secretary. "Excuse me, ma'am?" I flashed a smile and my psychic paper. "I'm Adrian Smith, reporter for the Grand Rapids Gazette!" 

"Yes?" She shuffled papers around, moving things on the desk as if she was trying to cover something. She eyed my jacket with a raised eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

"I sure hope so. I'm doing an article on kids from the past, and I'd like to interview a few from your school to compare with what I have!" I flashed a wider smile and pulled out my sonic screwdriver. She eyed Cali, who stood behind me. "She's my photographer."

"Uh, well, I- I can't help you with that..." she stuttered horribly, and went terribly pale.

Cauden pushed in next to me and flashed his own pearly whites and pulled out his wallet. "Hello. Jackson Doe, from the GR Gazette, and this is Carl James my assistant...." he flashed the wallet quickly before stuffing it back into his pocket. "We have permission slips ready to send home with the kids. We feel that not only will this teach our readers how school life has evolved, but also it will teach the kids the importance of journalism."

I raised my eyebrow at that, and he winked. "Is there someone we could talk to about this that could help us?"

"The principal..." she got up and directed us into an inner office.

Cauden knocked on the door and we stood and waited for a minute. He smiled at me and winked. I held my hand out, and he sighed and pulled his phone out, handing it over. "Thanks." I smiled and kissed his cheek, unlocking the phone and pulling up the messaging app. I texted Ronnie and asked him to look into possible holidays that gave kids days off.

I handed Cauden his phone back as the door opened, and a middle-aged man greeted us. "May I help you?"

I smiled at the man as Cauden pushed him into the room, Cali and Kourtland directly behind me. "Sorry about this, sir. We just have a few questions." I pocketed my sonic and fixed my jacket.

"Wha- who are you people?!" He wiped his face with a handkerchief he pulled out of his pocket.

"I'm Adrian, these are my friends, and we want to know why your school is empty." I grinned at him and stuck my hands in my pockets.

→Third person POV←  
↓On Kardian↓

The storm raged on as the leader of the Daicions watched, her monkey like face twisted in a sick pleasure. The cause of the storm was a tractor beam in the capital city on the planet, dragging a smaller planet towards them.

"The planet is almost in orbit, Mistress." A soldier bowed at the foot of the throne, his gaze trained to the floor. A child ran in, going to the throne and leaning on his mother's knee.

"Excellent! The energy from those children should provide a nice source for Kardian!" The queen picked the child Daicion up, setting him on her lap.

"Yes, Mistress." The soldier stayed where he was, waiting for his dismissal.

"But it won't last forever. We need to get a hold of that." She showed her pointed teeth in a grin as she pet her sons head.

"Mistress! He'll never let you near it!" The soldier looked up, shocked.

"What!" The queen glared at the soldier before snapping her fingers. Two more soldiers marched into the throne room immediately, their faces blank. "Dearest, how shall Mummy punish this soldier?" She stroked her boy's hair, smiling down at him.

He gave her a toothy grin as he looked up at her, his tail twitching. "Wax his fur!"

"Right you are!" The Daicion leader tweaked the child's cheek and waved her hand. 

The two soldiers clicked their heels and saluted before they grabbed the first man and dragged him to the side. Within five minutes, screams mixed in with the sound of the storm outside. Tufts of brown fur were discarded on the floor. When they finished, the two soldiers left behind a hairless Daicion, his skin raw.

The child giggled with glee and clapped his hands, enjoying the show. The queen smiled and looked the dejected soldier over, her gaze cold. "Even if he will not let me near it, I will get it. I need control over time as well as space, for the good of Kardian!"

The child looked up curiously, his eyes wide. "What'll let you have control over time?"

The queen's smile became sadistic as she petted her child's head. She loved his curiosity, his habit of asking all those questions. He'd make a good leader some day.

"It's a wonderful ship, my son. A most wonderful ship called the TARDIS." She took a deep breath and hugged the boy. 

"Who has it right now?" The boy hugged his mother, enjoying the rare affection he got.

"A most interesting creature. He's from Gallifrey." She stared out the window she had specially installed, looking over the capital city. "He should be here soon. His daughter will not let him ignore this." She purposefully didn't tell her son what 'this' was, just the rest.

"Ignore what, Mummy?" He turned his head to look at her again. 

She loved the questions. Looking directly at the now-naked soldier shivering on the cold marble floor, she curled her lip as she answered. "The taking of the planet Kodomo. The planet that child grew up on."

~~T~A~R~D~I~S~~

I sighed as I crossed my arms. I was sitting on the arm of the chair Cauden occupied, one leg crossed over the other. Cali sat in the chair next to us, and Kourtland stood behind her. The principal sat behind his desk, mopping his face with a handkerchief. 

Mr. Childs, the principal of the school we were in, had just finished explaining. After we convinced him we could help, of course. Apparently, the children had all disappeared right around lunchtime. Literally just vanished, leaving behind their lunches and bookbags.

I chewed my lip as I thought. I un-crossed my legs and re-crossed them the opposite way. "I need to see where the children were last seen."

"Y-yes of course. This way." He stood and left the inner office, handkerchief to forehead.

"Adrian! What's going on?" Ronnie jogged up and gave me a hug, fist bumping Cauden and Kourtland, and hugging Calico. I explained the situation, and he decided to follow us.

We all followed the poor man to the cafeteria, and I pulled out my sonic. I sniffed the air and wrinkled my nose. The air smelt burnt, a disgusting scent much like rotten milk. "Ooh what a stench!" I covered my nose with my hand and scanned the area, looking for any traces of... anything. When my sonic didn't pick up much, just tiny traces of dust and the like, I gulped and removed my hand from my nose. I had to go full out 'Doctor' on this. I squinted my eyes and went to the nearest table. An orange bookbag sat on the bench, deserted. I leaned down and took a huge sniff before licking my finger and holding it near the table. "Mmm-hmm..." 

"Um, Adrian, what are you doing?" Cali looked confused, and almost shocked when I glanced back.

"Investigating." I smiled and leaned forward more, licking the seat of the bench, right where a child had once sat. I wrinkled my nose and looked back at my friends. They were all giving me strange and disgusted looks. Except for Ronnie, who leaned down as well and licked the bench. 

"Tastes like.... shit." He wrinkled his nose and I laughed. "Why did you need to lick it?"

"I told you, I'm investigating." I stood up and placed my hands on my hips. "They didn't just simply vanish. There's something..." I grinned, getting really excited. "Alien goin' on here!"

Mr. Childs paled, and he mopped his forehead again. That poor handkerchief... "What do you mean, alien?"

I blinked at him. "I mean not human. Not of Earth. Like me!" I smiled.

"Like you? You're..." the poor man looked so confused.

"Time Lord!" I grinned and pushed one hip out, putting all my weight on one leg. "Well, mostly Time Lord, and just a smidgen of human..."

"You look human though." The principal narrowed his eyes.

"Correction, you look Time Lord!" I spun on my heel and pulled out my psychic paper, sending a message to my dad to let him know about the missing children. "Alright, there's not much I can do without the TARDIS. And I'm hungry. Let's head home and eat."

"Wait, so that's it?" Mr. Childs looked at me in disbelief. Or at least what I thought was disbelief. 

"I can't do much on my own." I shrugged, sticking my hands in my pockets. 

The man's faced reddened significantly, and a vein appeared on his forehead. "You... you said you could help!" He shook his finger at me.

"And I am. The only way I know how." I pulled my hands out and crossed my arms, scowling. "I've sent for my father, he should be here soon."

"You!" His finger waggled faster, and he stepped closer, rage apparent on his features. "You kids played me! What's this nonsense about aliens!? Where are the children?!" He poked my shoulder, and I jerked back. That kind of hurt.

"Hey! Back off, will you?" Cauden stepped in front of me, blocking the man's path. I gripped the back of his shirt. "She's done everything she could. Help will be here soon." 

I pulled on his shirt a bit. "Let's just get out of here, alright?" He stared at the principal for a moment before turning to check me over. "I'm okay, Cauden. Let's just leave. Daddy'll be here soon enough."

He cupped my face and stared into my eyes for a moment, his jaw twitching. I gripped his forearms and smiled. "Yeah, okay. Let's get out of here." He kissed my forehead and took my hand, pulling me all the way outside. Cali, Kourtland and Ronnie followed close behind.

Once we were back at Cauden's house, we all sat in the kitchen while Cali whipped up a quick supper. I got up after a minute and made my own supper, fish sticks with custard. It was still my favourite, even after all these years. 

"How do you eat that?" Ronnie wrinkled his nose at my choice of food as he dug into the spaghetti Cali had made.

"Like this." I grinned and dipped a fish stick in the bowl of custard, taking a bite. "Mmm... delicious!"

Cauden stole a fish stick and dipped it, trying it. "That's not bad!" He dipped it again and finished it off, practically smacking his lips. 

"See?" I giggled.

"What do you think happened to the kids?" Leave it to Kourtland to get all serious.

I ate another fish stick with custard before answering. "I think they were taken." I looked off to the side, my mind working overtime to figure this all out.

"You're quite right, Adrian!" A familiar voice agreed with me from the back door. I looked over to see my father, in all his bow-tie glory. He walked over and stole one of my fish sticks and dipped it in the custard. "Excellent choice for supper!" He grinned and ate his prize. "Anyway," he chewed and swallowed. "Children all over are disappearing, leaving behind almost no trace." He bent and kissed my head. "And I'm sorry to inform you, the whole of Kodomo has also been taken."

"What do you mean, Kodomo has been taken?" I spun and looked at my father, shocked. My home, the place I was raised, taken? My hearts sank as I thought this. The other kids might have been horrible to me, but it was still a home to me.

"Ah, I mean, literally stolen. It vanished yesterday, in fact." The Doctor leaned against the counter and crossed his arms.

"And you're just tellin' me now?" I shoved my food away and stood up. 

"Well, I didn't know other children were being stolen too." He scrunched his eyebrows and un-crossed his arms, putting his hands on either side of him on the counter.

"Dad! Kodomo was my home for almost sixteen years! And it was stolen! You didn't think I'd like to know that?!" I was freaking out, I knew it, but I couldn't stop. I had a lot of bad memories there, but there were some really good ones too. "We need to go. We need to go now, and get it back." I turned and started upstairs, into Cauden's room to gather the few things I had there.

"Adrian, slow down!" I heard Cauden call after me, but I continued on up the stairs. Until I tripped over my own foot and fell backwards from two-thirds up. "Adrian!" Strong arms caught me before I hit the floor at the bottom, and Cauden whispered in my ear. "I told you to slow down."

"Yea. Sorry." I tried to catch my breath, which I found difficult to do whilst pressed against Cauden. I managed to stand up, brushing my clothes off. "Thanks."

"Adrian." He took hold of my arms and spun me around to face him. He cupped my face in his hands and looked into my eyes.

"Why do you do that?" I whispered, feeling like this was a private moment.

"Do what?" He cocked his head to the side. I motioned to his hands, licking my lips. "Oh. I dunno. Because you move so quickly, this gives me the chance to look at you closely." I felt my cheek redden, and he smirked before leaning in and kissing me.

I closed my eyes as I kissed him back, drinking in the smell that was all Cauden. He pulled away after a minute and set his forehead against mine. "We have to save our home." I looked into his eyes, getting lost in them.

"We will." He smiled and kissed me once more before releasing me. "But maybe you should wait til tomorrow. It's getting late." 

I sighed and glanced out the window to the side. It was dark out. And I was getting tired. "Yea, okay. You're right." I walked back to the kitchen and sheepishly looked at my dad. "Um, we can save Kodomo tomorrow. Sorry I yelled."

My dad studied me a minute before walking to me and engulfing me in his arms. "It's quite alright. I understand." 

I nodded against his chest and sniffed, squeezing him tight. I pulled away after a minute and smiled at him. "I'm tired. I'm goin' to bed."

I turned to go upstairs to Cauden's room, where I had been sleeping this whole three weeks or so, but I was stopped by a hand on my wrist. "Adrian, where are you going?"

I looked back at my dad and sighed. "Upstairs, where I've been sleeping for three weeks." He gave me a look, that look that says 'I'm your dad, you're not sleeping with a guy', and I sighed again. "Cauden's been sleeping on the couch."

~~T~A~R~D~I~S~~ 

I yawned and stretched, as much as I could with someone's arms around me. I opened my eyes and smiled, seeing Cauden's sleeping face. I gently traced my fingers on his jaw. He looked so peaceful, so relaxed. I pushed myself up and kissed him on his nose.

He mumbled something, but I couldn't hear so I leaned closer. "Huh?"

"I said, you missed." He opened his eyes and grinned, leaning up and kissing my lips. "Morning, Love." 

I laid back down and snuggled closer. "Good morning." I sighed and ran my fingers on his cheek. "We have to get up. My dad will figure out that I lied if I'm not out there early." I started wiggling to get up, but his arms tightened. "Cauden, my dad will kidnap you and leave you on a faraway planet, with nothing but your socks."

"Alright. I'll let you go, if you pay me first." He pouted. 

"Pay you?" I smirked. He nodded and tapped his cheek, holding it out. I wiggled forward and kissed him, missing his cheek and going straight for his lips. Then while he was distracted, I pulled away and sat up, taking the blanket with me. "Can I wear your Skid Row tee?" 

"Yea." I felt the bed move and then his arms wrapped around my waist. 

I leaned forward and grabbed up my jeans, putting them on as far as I could. "Cauden, I need to get dressed." I smiled and glanced back at him.

"Do you?" He kissed my shoulder.

"Yes. I wasn't kidding when I said my dad would leave you on a distant planet. A cold planet, with literally nothing but your socks." I managed to finally wiggle enough to slip my jeans up and button them. "Your shirt's in your dresser?"

He sighed and I heard him get up. "Yea. Third drawer."

I went to the dresser and pulled on the tee. It came down to my knees, almost. I grinned and turned around, licking my lips. Watching Cauden pull on a pair of jeans was almost as good as...

"Adrian! Your dad's asking for you!" I heard from outside the bedroom door, and I hurriedly grabbed my jacket and boots. 

"I'm coming!" I left the room and almost ran right into Cali. "Morning!" I grinned and hugged her.

"Morning! You should... fix your hair." She smirked and lifted a lock of my hair up. 

"Right. Tell dad I'm in the bathroom." I spun and headed back in the room.

"Where will you actually be?" She called out, sounding far too amused.

"In the bathroom!" I rushed past Cauden, who held out my hairbrush, a smirk on his face. I stuck my tongue out and went into the bathroom, pulling the brush through my hair. 

After a few minutes of rushing around and taming my hair, I was finally in the kitchen, eating a bowl of Fruity Pebbles. I had pulled my boots on on the stairway, and my jacket was draped on the chair I sat on. Cauden leaned against the counter behind me, eating a poptart. Cali and Kourtland sat at the table, chatting with Ronnie. My dad was leaning against the wall behind them, watching me eat.

"Dad, I'm eating as fast as I can." I finished the bowl, drank the milk, and stood. "Alright, Let's go!" 

My dad clapped his hands and turned, leading us all to the familiar blue police box. I barely had time to grab my jacket. "Right. Wait. I'm taking all of you?" He spun around room face us, raising an eyebrow. 

"Yea dad! They can help!" I shook my head and spun him around. "We don't have time to argue, there's kids in danger!"

"Right right. Alright, come on!" He unlocked the door and we went inside. "Last human in, shut the door!"

I took a deep breath and looked around, taking in the sight. I missed the TARDIS, and I felt like I'd come home. "Oh, I've missed you, girl!" I went to the console and smiled. "I'm home!" The room brightened and got warmer, and my smile widened. "I missed you too!"

"Yes, she wouldn't let me go too far from the solar system." My dad shook his head and started switching switches, pushing buttons and pulling levers. "Hold on!"

The TARDIS started shaking and making that so familiar sound. I gripped the edge of the console and laughed, staring at the glowing column in the middle. "What's going on?" Ronnie yelled out, holding onto the rail by the stairs for dear life.

"We're traveling! Just hold on!" I laughed again, enjoying the ride.

There was a bump and a shudder, and I almost fell to the floor. I pulled myself upright and ran to the screen. "Where did you take us?" I glanced back and saw my friends and Cauden were all on the floor.

"Ah! We are..." dad started, but I threw my arm out.

"Wait! I want to see!" I grinned at him and ran to the door, Cauden, Cali, Kourtland and Ronnie right behind me. 

I opened the door and stepped into a big room. The ceiling was high and painted a pale blue. The walls had murals of a few different landscapes from a few different planets. The floor was a simple wooden tile, rugs and play mats scattered around. The windows were closed, and I could hear the howls of a storm. Bookshelves lined the bottom half of the walls, and a few toy chest sat in a few different areas. The room was currently empty, the lights low. Even as dark as it was right that moment, I'd recognize this room anywhere.

"Adrian..." I glanced back and reached for Cauden's hand, squeezing it.

"Yea. We're back. Geronimo." I took a deep breath and led the group out of the TARDIS, and into the common room of the orphanage I grew up in. 

We were on Kodomo.

~~T~A~R~D~I~S~~

Cauden and I walked slowly to the middle of the room, staying quiet. I was afraid to speak, afraid I'd reveal to my father that I had been bullied my whole life. 

I took a deep breath as i looked around, memories resurfacing. Tears threatened, but I swallowed them back.

"Hey, it's alright. Nobody can mess with you now." Cauden squeezed my hand, trying to comfort me. I glared at him.

"What? Mess with her? What do you mean?" The Doctor had been walking around, and now he turned to face us.

"Nothing, dad." I threw Cauden a 'you better shut up' face before smiling at my father.

"She didn't tell you?" Cauden sounded shocked.

"Cauden, please don't..." I tried to stop him.

"Tell me what?" My dad came to stand in front of us, looking a little confused.

"The other kids bullied her." Cauden looked right at my dad, probably trying to avoid my glare. 

"What? Why?" He looked at me, and I looked down. "Adrian?" He sounded so sad.

I gulped and glanced up. "I dunno. Cause they could. Mum was in prison, and they used that to get at me." I shrugged like it was no big deal. It wasn't a big deal.

"I'm sorry." My dad reached for me, but I jerked back, releasing Cauden's hand as well. 

"It's fine." I walked away, going to a bookshelf all the way on the other side of the room. I knelt down and pulled out my favourite kid's book, I'll Love You Forever, from Earth. When I was little, I used to look at the pictures, and Mum would read it to me whenever she visited. I sat down and opened it, my eyes misting over just the slightest. I took a shaky, deep breath and ran my fingers down the page. 

I felt a hand on my shoulder and glanced back, seeing Ronnie crouching behind me. "Hey, that's tough. But you're okay." He smiled and went to look at a window.

"Excuse me, may I help you?" I put the book back on the shelf and stood up, turning to face the person that had spoken. It was a female, with leathery skin and long black dreads. She had kind brown eyes that sat real close together above a small nose. She wore a simple green dress with a shawl wrapped around her shoulders. She was smiling, but looked confused. 

I smiled and waved, excited. "Caith! It's me, Adrian!" 

"Adrian?" The lights brightened a bit and she stepped closer, and I ran to her. "Oh! Oh, child! It's good to see you!" She hugged me, and I threw my arms around her and squeezed.

"It's good to see you too!" I laughed, and she held me at arm's length, looking me over. She smiled kindly and glanced at my dad and friends behind me. "Oh! Caith, this is my father, the Doctor. And my friends, Calico, Ronnie and Kourtland. And you remember Cauden? He left when he was about twelve."

"Yes! Cauden, child! You've grown!" She waved him over and took his hand when he was close enough. "Not that I mind, but why are you here?"

"Um, could we maybe chat over a spot of tea?" The Doctor smiled a bit.

Half an hour later we were all sitting in the cafeteria, drinking tea and munching on Caith's chocolate chip cookies. "Caith is the headmistress here, she knows all of the kids personally." Cauden was explaining to the others. 

I was still mad at him, so I was sitting as far away as I could. I had my feet on the chair I sat on, and an arm wrapped around my knees. My chin was propped you on my knees and my tea sat untouched. I avoided my dad's gaze and stared off onto space, listening to the sounds of the storm raging outside.

"Adrian, can I talk to you? Alone?" Cauden's voice penetrated my attempt at quietness. I turned my head and looked up at him, catching the hurt in his expression. "Please?"

I sighed and unfolded myself from my chair before following him to the far side of the room. "What." I crossed my arms and did my best 'I'm pissed at you' glare.

He sighed and took my elbows in his hands, leaning down to my level. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't know you never told him."

"Yeah, well. He wouldn't have been able to do anything. Or, if he can, he has a time machine, so now he knows and he might change something." I turned my face away, studying the wall beside us. It was full of pictures that kids had drawn and colored. The pictures stretched all the way to the high ceiling, and I could vaguely remember the picture I had drawn when I was six. "He could mess up my life."

Cauden was silent for a minute, his thumbs rubbing my arms. "I'm sorry, okay? Love, I didn't mean to..."

"But you did." I stared at him, then sighed, relaxing. "I'm sorry. It's just that Dad gets overprotective of me." I looked down, staring at his arms.

"Hey, Adrian." He moved his hands and cupped my cheeks, making me look into his eyes. "It's okay. I get it, that's why I'm sorry." He pushed my hair out of my face. 

I chewed on my lip and looked into his brown eyes, seeing understanding. I nodded and attempted a smile, un-crossing my arms. "Okay. You're forgiven if I am." I clutched his shirt in my hands at his sides.

"Always, Love." He smiled and kissed me before hugging me. I wrapped my arms around his torso and sighed contentedly.

Then a piercing shriek ripped through the room, and a siren started up. A slightly muffled voice sounded across the intercom: "All residents make way to the common room. I repeat, all residents make way to the common room or else you'll all die!"

~~T~A~R~D~I~S~~

There was chatter and crying from the fifty or so children in the common room. My dad was flitting around, scanning things and trying to find where the message had come from. The voice had stopped about five minutes ago. I stood with Cauden, Cali, Kourtland, and Ronnie in a huddle, keeping quiet. Cauden kept his arms around me as much as he could. I held Cali's hand, she held Kourtland's hand, and Ronnie stood on my other side next to Kourtland, completing the circle.

"What do you think is going on?" Cali whispered, signalling the others to stay quiet so we didn't scare the kids that were scattered around in huddles.

I shook my head and squeezed her hand. "I don't know. Maybe the aliens that stole the kids from Earth are here, on this planet, in this building." I sank into Cauden as much as I could, trying to hide from everything that was going on. I was beyond scared. The first thing I noticed when we stepped into the common room was that the TARDIS was gone. That was never a good thing.

"Ah, right. We're going to find the TARDIS and save the children." My dad appeared between Ronnie and me, startling all of us. He looked around at all of us, rubbing his hands together and looking much too excited.

"Dad! Wha- they'll kill us!" My hearts were pounding hard against my ribs. I might have been scared, but I loved this. The adrenaline rush was one of a kind.

"Yes well. They'll kill everyone that they don't need, I'd wager." Dad's eyes sparkled, and he set a hand on Ronnie's shoulder and one on Cauden's. "Ready? Well slip out the door here, and start from there!" He grinned and spun around.

Glancing around, my friends followed after him without a word. Cauden felt a hold of me as we slipped out the door and started down the hallway. All the ceilings were high here, and the windows stretched from floor to ceiling. Each one held the same picture: the storm raging outside. I was studying the sky closely, almost catching something strange, when we heard footsteps behind us. 

"Stop! All residents must report to the common room or die!" I spun around, spotting a group of men at the end of the corridor on the right. They almost looked Time Lord. They stood tall, wore a uniform and carried weapons. Their faces were different, however. Covered in fur, with features similar to that of an Earth monkey. And they had tails twitching behind them. I took all this in in the split second before I turned and ran, pushing everyone ahead of me.

"Run!" I yelled, almost grinning. "Dad, what are they, do you know?" I had a little trouble keeping up, but I managed just barely with my short legs.

"I managed to do a little research," he lead us around a corner, "and I'd wager they are Daicions! From Kardian! They've been recently trying to harvest energy from living creatures!"

I gulped as we ran, keeping my eyes open for any opportunities for escaping. "There!" I yelled and pointed, and my dad glanced back at me, then at where I was pointing.

"Right! Come along then, humans!" He almost skipped through the door that was partially hidden in an alcove. It was another corridor, this one a little smaller than the main halls. This one led to the dormitories for special kids. Like, children who were bullied often or needed extra attention or extra protection. My friends all panted farther up the hallway as my dad paced back and forth for a minute. 

I leaned out the doorway and cursed. "Run! They're coming!" We had been resting for half a minute, but they were headed straight for us!

I was running, yet again. Or rather, I was being dragged. Cauden had a tight grip on my hand, pulling me along. Just behind us were the Daicions, their monkey like faces twisted in anger. 

"Keep up, Shortstuff!" Ronnie called back. He, Kourtland, and Calico ran ahead of us, with the Doctor leading the way.

"I'm... trying..." I pushed my legs harder, finally pulling up to run next to Cauden. Until I tripped and fell, loosing my grip on his hand.

"Adrian! No!" Cauden stopped and spun, just as the Daicions closed in on me.

"Cauden! Get out of here!" I practically screamed. He ran alright, but not in the direction I'd hoped. He ran right to me, punching out the nearest Daicions and pulling me up. "No! You need to get out of here! I can't run anymore, I turned my ankle!" I tried to push him away, but he just held on tighter.

"I'm not leaving you, Adrian! I told you, I'm here to protect you now!" He shook his head and pushed me down, punching another Daicion.

"Yes well, it'll be really hard for you to do that if you die, Cauden!" Tears pricked, and I let them fall. 

He took a moment to look at me, eyes full of determination and something else I refused to acknowledge. "I won't die, Love."

I chewed on my lip, tears still falling. "Promise?"

He smiled softly and kissed me, quick but gentle. "Promise. I'm never leaving you again."

I smiled and took a deep breath. "Okay. But we need to figure out a way to the others." I looked around, trying to distinguish where we were. I recognized the area right away, and I deduced that my old bedroom was farther down the hall. I told Cauden so, and we started down the corridor. 

We moved as fast as we could, which wasn't really that fast. Cauden was half carrying me, while I hopped along on one foot. "Stop! All residents must report in the common room or die!"

"Damn it!" Cauden glanced back and started moving faster. "There's a bunch of them!"

We managed to get a little farther before they were upon us, and we were being cuffed and dragged away.

The Daicions dragged us all the way back to the common room. The children were being grouped together and separated from the adults. I caught sight of Caith, who was also cuffed.

I smiled at her and nodded to her cuffed hands. "What you do?" I smirked, knowing she'd take the joke. I'd gotten my sense of humor from her, after all. "I ran."

She managed a smile and shook her head. "I tried to help the children escape." She was led away, off to the other side, I presume.

I smiled again and winced when I was yanked sideways. "So you're the Doctor's daughter. Pretty little thing, if human's weren't ugly." I looked towards the snarling voice, wincing at the sight before me.

A male Daicion stood in front of us, his skin bare. He wore the uniform of what I assumed was Kardian military, but he had no fur. Minus the few random tufts, here and there. "You had a very bad day, didn't you?" I stared wide eyed, almost feeling bad for him.

"Shut up!" He swung his hand, and my head whipped to the side. 

"No!" I glanced up to see Cauden struggling to get free. "Leave her alone!"

"Cauden, I'm okay!" I yelled at him, and he looked over at me, worried. I smiled at him, despite the throbbing in my cheek. "We'll get out of this." He nodded, and I caught a tiny smile before a hand forced me to look at the naked Daicion. 

"Enough! You will not be escaping!" He looked angry, and his face was all red and blotchy.

"You should really calm down, anger is doing nothing for your complexion." I blinked. He hit me again, and this time I tasted blood. I composed myself before looking at him again. "Beating me isn't going to get you what you want."

"No, I know that. It's just fun." He sneered at me and then turned away, pacing. "We have the TARDIS, but How do we drive it?" He turned to face me, hands behind his back. "Hmmm?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. My dad won't let me drive. Thinks I'll send us into a back hole or something."

Cauden looked at me, leaning over as much as he could. "I wish you weren't being so calm about this."

I looked at him and smiled. "I'm not calm. I'm so bloody scared, if I had to pee it would be running down my leg."

He chuckled and shook his head. "You're incredible." 

I grinned at him again. Then Naked Guy was in my face again. "So your father is the only one who can drive it, then?"

I stared right at him and wrinkled my nose. "You really should consider a mint." SMACK! "Yes. Dad's the only one who can drive her." That hurt. My head throbbed, and spots invaded my vision. I blinked, hoping he wouldn't catch my bluff. My mum could drive her too, but he didn't need to know that. "He's the only one bonded to her." I blinked.

Naked Guy cursed and continued to pace. "Where did he run off to? Hmmm?" 

I stayed silent, seriously not knowing the answer to that. He hit me, like I expected, but this time in the ribs. "Oof! I- I dunno... where he went..." I gasped, trying to catch my breath. "We were... lagging behind...." I was doubled over by now, and I closed my eyes while I had the chance. I could feel something drip off my face, and my ribs screamed in agony.

"Please stop hurting her!" Cauden sounded desperate, as if he could feel my pain. I opened one eye to look at him, and watched as he finally wiggled free from the Daicion that held him. His hands were still cuffed, but he managed to bring them to his front and kneel in front of me. He cupped my face in his hands gently and I opened my eyes to look at him. "Adrian, no matter what happens, promise me you'll save the kids!"

I nodded and licked my lips. "Yeah. I promise, I'll save them." My eyes were heavy, but I kept them open. He kissed me quickly before he was yanked away. I glared at Naked Guy. "Why exactly do you need the children, anyway?"

The Daicion sneered again, showing his pointed teeth. "I'm glad you asked. My queen has discovered a new energy that provides nicely for our community. It's only found in the youthfulness of children, though."

I started to work at the cuffs on my wrists, wiggling my hands around. They were pretty loose, considering. "And why do you need my father's TARDIS?" If I could get to my sonic, I could free Cauden as well, and send a wave of sound to throw the Daicions off balance...

"So we can go and take all the children from the beginning of time!" Naked Guy threw his arms out and grinned, twisting his monkey features grotesquely. 

One hand free! I reached into my pocket and pulled out... an empty hand! "Bollocks!" I clenched my teeth.

"Looking for this?" Naked Guy waved my sonic in my face, just out of reach. "Interesting toy you have here."

"Come on! Daddy said that that was my last one! Give it back!" I tried to stay cool, but the truth was that without my sonic, I had no plan.

The Daicions laughed, and I wrinkled my nose. I looked around a minute and caught sight of Cauden. He mouthed one word to me: 'run'. So I ran.

"Stop! Or your lover here dies!" I spun around to see two Daicions holding their weapons on Cauden. "Come on back here, now. There's a good girl."

I slowly made my way back, watching them closely. "Alright, I'm on my way. Just leave him alone, okay?" I licked my lips and held my hands up. 

As soon as I was close enough, a couple of Daicions pushed me down and recuffed me, making sure they were tight this time. "Good. Now How do I get a hold of your father and leave him a message?"

I scowled, knowing full well what the Daicion was doing. He was trying to make me tell him all this, so I'd feel guilty. But there was only two ways to get a hold of the Doctor when he wasn't on the TARDIS: sonic him with the special setting he added, or send him a message via psychic paper. Neither was guarantied, as he could have left both on the TARDIS. Or dropped one or the other. The sonic was my best bet. But I wasn't going to tell them that.

I scowled, glaring at the fur-less Daicion. "I dunno. Use the intercom, like you did before." I added a silent duh at the end of that.

"Don't get snippy with me, child!" The male sneered, his face blotching red. "Your lover's life is on the line!" One of the other Daicions punched Cauden in the stomach, and I winced. He turned to one of his soldiers and whispered, waving his hand. 

A few minutes later, a voice echoed through the intercom. "Doctor, we have your TARDIS and we have your daughter. Surrender now or we destroy both!" The message was repeated, and I hung my head.

I had to think of a way out of this, with Cauden still intact. My problem was, it was hard to think with a throbbing migraine and screaming ribs.

"Dammit Adrian! You were supposed to escape! Save yourself!" Cauden sounded close to tears, and that frightened me.

"I'm not leaving you behind, Cauden! Forget it!" I shook my head and ignored my own tears. 

"How sweet. And disgusting." Naked Guy wrinkled his already-wrinkled nose.

"You are a very bitter man." I blinked at him, trying to focus my vision. "You need to get laid or something." I fell to the floor as his fist connected with my face again.

"Silence!" He bared his teeth and grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking me up. "You will show me respect!"

I screamed out and squeezed my eyes shut, gritting my teeth. Sharp pain ripped through my skull, making it difficult to think.

"Alright! I'm here! Now let my daughter and her friend go!" My dad's voice was music to my ears, and I broke down sobbing. "Also, if you'll look out the windows, you'll notice that you are very far from home!"

I opened my eyes and looked, seeing a clear purple sky. A single sun hung among the clouds. Kodomo was back where it belonged! I calmed down and smiled, proud.

"What! How...?" Naked Guy was shocked, and that made me giggle.

"He's the Doctor. Undefeated." I grinned.

"Yes. Now let them go. I'll let you go home, if you promise to leave Earth, all children, and my daughter and her friends alone. If you promise to never attempt this again, I'll let you live." My father and his negotiations. I smiled and shook my head. Cali, Kourtland and Ronnie all stepped up beside him, holding what seemed to be weapons of mass destruction.

Cauden and I were promptly released, and we hugged each other before turning towards our friends. I rubbed my sore wrists as he walked, and I limped, smiles on our faces.

"You cannot expect me to let you go!" Naked Guy sounded surprised.

I spun around and steadied myself before I smirked at him. "But of course. You are defeated."

"My queen will never give up! Kardian and it's people need a source of energy!" The man would just not give up.

I sighed. "Listen. Just tell her to look us up. We have never failed to save Earth, and this planet is no exception." I shrugged. "For eons my father has been saving humans and the planets they occupy. She'll never win against him."

"You speak blasphemy! My queen is more intelligent than some time traveller from a dead planet!" The Daicion snarled and grabbed a weapon from one of his soldiers, aiming it at me. "The price for blasphemy is death!"

"No!" As the Daicion pulled the trigger, I felt a body crash into mine, sending me skidding across the floor.

I sat up and shook my head, feeling dizzy. I looked around and blinked at the scene in front of me. Cauden was on the floor where I once stood, unmoving. The naked Daicion that had attempted to kill me lay dead with a hole through his chest. The soldiers were all standing in surrender mode. My gaze drifted back to Cauden, and I crawled over to him.

"Cauden?" I cupped his face in my hands, pushing his hair from his face. "Come on, wake up! We did it! We saved the kids! Cauden?"

"Adrian..." I glanced you to see my dad looking at me with sad eyes.

"No!" I looked back at Cauden, tears threatening. "Cauden! Get up now, okay? We can go home!" The tears spilled over when he still didn't move. "No no no no... you can't do this to me! You promised you'd never leave me again! Cauden!" By then I was sobbing, pulling him into my lap and holding him close. I felt my hearts break, and I found it difficult to breath. I brushed his hair out of his face again, leaning over to kiss him. "Please get up! Oh God..." I felt for a pulse and nearly passed out. There was no pulse. 

Cauden was dead.


	3. The Impossible

Chapter Three: The Impossible

I sobbed for awhile. When I finished, I was bone dry. I stayed on the floor, cradling Cauden's body, long after I stopped crying. I couldn't function, I couldn't even bring myself to talk to Caith. Or Cali or Kourtland or Ronnie or Dad. I just wanted to talk to Cauden, hear his voice again. See his smile, the warmth in his eyes, feel his hands in my cheeks, his arms around me.

I just wanted Cauden back.

"Adrian, it's time to go." I heard my dad, but I didn't look up. He sighed, and someone took Cauden's body away.

"No!" I reached out, my hearts breaking again as my hands slipped off his chest.

"We're just moving him, don't worry." I didn't register the voice. 

I zoned out when I couldn't see him anymore, and I barely noticed that it was my father that picked me up off the floor. "Adrian, I am so so sorry." He mumbled into my ear, and my lip trembled as I buried my face in his neck. 

I snapped out of whatever trance I had been in, whispering. "I loved him, Daddy." I hugged him tightly as he carried me.

"I know, sweetheart." He shifted me a bit and then we were in another room. 

I slept for awhile, dreaming of Cauden. Of when we first met when we were children, of when we saw each other again. All my memories of him now played out as I rested.

I'd been on Earth almost two weeks, and I was miserable. I kept freaking out, worrying about my dad. I was sitting on the couch in Cauden's house, having one of these freak outs, when he walked in. He'd just gotten off work, and he looked tired. I glanced up at him to observe this before looking down at my hands in my lap.

"Worrying about your dad again?" He sat next to me, putting his hand on my shoulder. I nodded, avoiding his gaze. "Well you shouldn't. He seems like he can take care of himself."

I scoffed, tears forming. "Yea, right. He's alerts getting into trouble. Dangerous trouble. One time dad, grandma, and I almost got eaten by a star whale." I shook my head. 

"Hey! I'm sure he'll be fine!" Cauden cupped my face in his hands, and i realized he had moved so he was crouching in front of me. "He's got you to worry for him, he's lucky." He smiled gently, his thumbs rubbing away the tears I hadn't noticed.

I smiled and placed my hands over his. "I guess."

He licked his lips and leaned forward, looking a little nervous. Staring intently into my eyes, he gulped. "Can I- can I kiss... you?"

My breath caught in my throat, and my hearts raced in my chest. It was my turn to gulp, lick my lips, and stare. I nodded, putting my hands back in my lap. He leaned closer, and I closed my eyes as our lips connected. Almost of their own accord, my my hands reached up and clutched his shirt. Our mouths moved in sync, and he leaned me back against the couch, his hands starting to travel. His touch left hot trails, and I gasped when his fingers brushed bare skin at my hip. 

Then he pulled away. "I don't want to go too fast. I want to cherish the time I have with you." He stroked my hair back, that gentle smile on his lips.

I sat up gasping, fresh tears on my face. "Damn it..." 

"Hey, you're awake." Cali sat next to me, handing me a tissue. 

"Um, yea." I nodded and wiped the wetness off my cheeks. "W- where's my dad? And the guys?"

She smiled a little and drew her knees up to her chest. "The Doctor is preparing... things, and the guys are avoiding us."

I nodded and sat there for a minute. Then I scooted over, looking around. "This was my room..." I patted the spot now vacant, and Calico climbed on.

"Caith thought you'd want something familiar around you." I leaned my head on her shoulder, and she leaned her head on mine.

"I'll have to thank her later." We were quiet for a bit, until I turned my head, crying on her shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her, and she hugged me back. "I miss him so much..."

"Me too." We comforted each other until the tears were once again dried up.

There was a knock on the door, and Caith poked her head in. "Adrian, your father says it's time to go now."

In the common room once more, I hugged Caith hard. "Thank you, so much!" 

"Child, you are welcome! You will be missed." Caith rubbed my back before releasing me.

"You too." I attempted a smile and turned to board the TARDIS. I was immediately surrounded by my friends, and we all went straight to where Cauden's body was placed. I sat down and cupped his cheek, swallowing the lump in my throat. It didn't even register that his cheek was warmer than it should have been.

"Alright. I Uh, contacted his aunt, and she has given us permission to..." I zoned out, not wanting to hear what was being said. Soon, my dad was at the controls, starting her up. "Geronimo." He spoke it, sounding sad himself.

I clutched Cauden's shirt in one hand, and Ronnie took my other one. Calico wrapped her arms around me and sat with me, Kourtland sitting next to her. 

The air stayed at a comfortable temperature, and the lights stayed low, leaving just enough for the Doctor to see by. The TARDIS was sad too.

Sorrow and despair hung in the air. We had made our way back to the TARDIS, and I stared emotionless at the center console. We had brought Cauden's body back with us, and were headed out into space to perform a funeral of sorts.

I had cried all my tears already, and was all dried up. Calico sat next to me, her arms around me. She was silent as well, having lost a best friend. Kourtland sat next to her, holding her hand. Ronnie sat on my other side, holding my free hand. My dad was driving. 

We landed, and the doors opened, and I refused to look up as my dad, Ronnie and Kourtland lifted Cauden from the floor.

"Stop! You are about to make a big mistake!" I looked up and saw my mum, a panicked look across her features.

"River! Where did you come from?" My dad sputtered, and the guys laid Cauden back down on the floor. I scrambled for him, leaving Cali reaching to stop me. 

"That doesn't matter right now. Just wait, and you'll see..." she pulled me back and wrapped her arms around me, just as Cauden's body convulsed.

"What's going on!?" I struggled to go to him, to stop whatever was possessing him.

"It's all right, my dear girl. Watch!" She tightened her grip. 

We all watched as Cauden shook, then glowed golden. All exposed areas of skin glowed,  and his body went stiff suddenly. The glowing dimmed, and Cauden sat up straight, gasping.

"God that was rough!" He shook his head and jumped up, shaking himself. Everyone was so shocked, Ronnie didn't even make a 'that's what he/she said' joke. "Oh! I'm British! Let's see, two legs, two arms... got a mirror?" He spun around and took us all in. "What? Do I look weird or something?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it, opening it again. "Cauden... y- you were dead." My hearts pounded against my rib cage, and I tried to wrap my head around the fact that he was standing, alive!

"Oh. Yes, I guess I was." He ran a hand through his hair and grinned. "Not anymore, though." He looked around again. "Seriously, anyone got a mirror?"

"You look the same. Just... sound different." Cali laughed, and she and Kourtland ran forward to hug him. I was frozen in place. Even Ronnie walked forward and clapped him on the shoulder. 

I finally found my legs and walked forward. One step at a time I approached him, shaking. "Cauden. You died, you... you left me..."

"Adrian, I-" he stepped around the others, meeting me halfway. "I'm sor-" he was cut off by a slap even I didn't expect.

I brought my now stinging hand down, and he swung his head back around to stare into my eyes. Tears now streamed, and I took a shaky breath. "If you ever scare me like that again, I'll kill you myself." I brought my hand back up and caressed the red mark on his cheek.

"I'm sorry. I'm not sure what happened. Last thing I remember, that monkey bloke was trying to shoot you..." he looked me over, and my hand slipped off his cheek. 

"I'm fine." Was all I managed to choke out. I cleared my throat and tried again. "I'm okay, and so are you..."

He cupped my face, and I closed my eyes. "Yes. I'm okay. I'm sorry I scared you." His thumbs wiped the tears off my face and he leaned his forehead on mine. He kissed me, and I forgot my parents were right there watching. I kissed him back, clutching his shirt in my fists.

"I hate to break up this reunion, but..." my dad's voice cut through my senses, and I pulled away from Cauden.

"Right. Why did you regenerate?" I kept hold of Cauden with one hand and dug in my pocket for my sonic.

"Want, Adrian. I'm going to take him to the TARDIS's infirmary. This way, Cauden." my dad started down a hall, and Cauden kissed me quickly before following. 

I spun and hugged my mum when they left. "Mum! Thanks for stopping them."

"You're welcome" she squeezed me tight and kissed my head.

We sat and waited for what seemed like hours before Cauden and my dad rejoined us. My dad looked around and stuck his hands in his pants pockets. He looked really excited, his grin stretching his face. "He's a Time Lord!"

Chapter Three: The Impossible 

I blinked at my father, who had taken his hands out of his pockets to rub them together. "A Ti- what are you talking about?" 

"Two hearts, regenerative abilities, the works!" Dad giggled, like he often did when he was excited. "He has the DNA of a Time Lord!"

Kourtland shook his head. "That's Impossible! When he broke his arm last year, he only had one heart. They would've kept him there longer otherwise." Calico nodded her agreement.

"Well He's got two now!" Dad flipped a few switches and pressed a button. "This is the X-ray we just took a bit a go." He swung the screen and sure enough, two hearts were clearly there.

Not able to just stand here any longer, I went to Cauden and wrapped my arms around his torso. I placed my ear right in the middle of his chest, and if I concentrated, I could indeed hear two heartbeats at once. I closed my eyes and relaxed when he placed his arms around me. 

When I looked up, my mum was whirling around the TARDIS, starting her up. "Where are we going?" 

She smiled. "Let's find out why he had one heart!"

I grinned at her and looked up at Cauden. He smiled down at me and kissed my forehead. "Can we stop somewhere first?" I took Cauden's hand and dragged him towards my mother. She smiled, knowing where I was talking about, and started flipping switches and pressing buttons.

"Yea! We'll be there soon." She pressed the blue buttons, and Dad pouted.

"You're using the boringers?" He crossed his arms.

"Dad, she only turned the breaks off." I giggled, and Cauden wrapped his arms around me from behind, laying his chin on my head. I put my hands on his arms and took a deep breath, enjoying the warmth of his alive-ness.

"They're boringers." He leaned against the rail near my mum and watched as she ran around. 

I shook my head and looked at my friends. Ronnie was staring bewildered at Cauden, inching closer. Kourtland and Calico sat on the stairs nearby, leaning close and whispering at each other. I smiled at them and leaned into Cauden as my mother drove the TARDIS, heading towards a random place in the middle of space. 

"Whoa!" I grinned as I watched my friends crowd around the door of the TARDIS. We were floating in the middle of space, stars, planets and galaxies surrounding us on all sides. Kourtland was leaning out, a childish grin on his face. "This is awesome!"

"Hey, don't lean out so far!" Calico laughed, holding onto the back of his shirt. Ronnie was poking at Cauden, trying to startle him off the ship. "Ronnie, quit trying to get Cauden to jump off. Cauden, stop provoking him! God, it's like having three twelve year olds..."

I laughed and leaned into my mother's side. Dad stood on my other side, his arm slung over my shoulders. We watched my friends marvel over the slendidness that is our universe. 

Just over their heads, I could barely make out the swirls and twirls of a galaxy. 

~~T~A~R~D~I~S~~ 

We were finally on our way to figuring out Cauden's mystery. We had stopped back on Earth for a few days to allow Cauden, Calico, Kourtland, and Ronnie time gather their things and to pick up Jesse. Ronnie had begged my dad to allow him to come with us. I was still trying to figure out why Dad was letting so many into the TARDIS. I think it had something to do with Mum being with us.

I sat in the kitchen, reading a book at the table. Cauden walked in, tying an apron on over his Nirvana tee and black ripped jeans. "Want an omelet?"

I glanced up and smiled. "Sounds delicious." I got up and stretched, setting my book down. "We should have all the ingredients here..." The apron he had put on was a classic; a plain white affair with "kiss the cook" in red writing across the front. "Nice apron." I raised an eyebrow and looked up into his eyes. 

He grinned, his brown eyes twinkling. "Yea? I thought so too." He smoothed it down the front and then held his arms out to his sides.

I looked him over as we stood there. He really did look the same. Same dark hair, same smile. Same everything. Except now there was a depth to his gaze, something I had noticed in my father's eyes, in my own. A depth that only our kind had. 

I reached up and placed my hands on either side of his face. He lowered his own hands down to my waist, his grin softening. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you're okay." I bit my lip.

He tightened his grip on me and pulled me closer, and I moved my hands to his chest. "Adrian, for the hundredth time, I'm alright. I'm standing here, in front of you..." he leaned close, so that our breath mingled together. "Healthy and alive." He kissed me, and my eyes drifted close. The kiss was soft, and I drank in his taste.

I sank into him, sighing. I don't know what it was, but a part of me had died when he did. I didn't think I could've survived. I pulled away a bit and looked him closely in the eyes. "If you ever die again, I will kill you myself." 

Cauden smiled and nodded. "I expect no less." He pulled me back in and kissed me deeper, his fingers finding the skin between my jeans and shirt. I shivered, and my arms moved of their own accord, wrapping around his neck. My fingers tangled in his soft hair, and he made a noise close to a growl. His kiss became more than soft, became urgent. 

Suddenly, I couldn't get enough. I pressed myself closer, so we were chest to chest, hip to hip. I needed more, and I could feel he did too. He moved his hands up, against my skin, leaving fire behind. I moaned, opening my mouth for him, as he rocked his hips against me slowly. His tongue slipped in, caressing me.

"Ahem..." I gasped and pulled away from Cauden, but only just enough to glance at the doorway. Calico, Kourtland, Ronnie and Jesse stood grouped up just inside the kitchen, grinning. "Um, your parents are on their way here..." Cali giggled.

I felt my cheeks flame up, and I buried my face in Cauden's chest to hide. He chuckled and set his hand on my head, kissing the top of it. "That's alright, Love. Weren't you hungry anyway?" I nodded and stood there a minute before I sat back down and buried my nose in my book once more. 

God, why do we keep getting interrupted? I stared at the same page for awhile before I gave up reading. I peeked up at Cauden, who was now mixing the ingredients for our omelets. "Extra cheese?" I asked, my cheeks still bright red.

He glanced back at me and grinned. "Anything for you, Love!" I smiled at him and propped my chin up on my hands, watching him cook.

I let my eyes graze his body, from his converse clad feet, to his perfect arse... okay, that's where I stopped. I licked my bottom lip and bit it. 

"Everyone packed?" My dad stepped in, clapping his hands. I tore my gaze away from Cauden's arse and looked up at my parents.

"Oh, Doctor! Let them eat first!" My mum smiled at us all and kissed me on my head. "We're in no real rush."

"Cauden's making omelets." I pointed out, trying to avoid the subject I knew Cali at least wanted to talk about. "With extra cheese."

Mum nodded and studied me a moment. "Uh-huh. We'll talk later, hear me?" I tried to keep a poker face and nodded, looking down at the table.

"Talk? About what?" Dad stopped intensely staring at Cauden to throw Mum and me a confused look.

"Mother-daughter stuff." Mum waved her hand around. "Not your concern. Oh, and I'm driving."

"Like hell you are!" Dad pouted, crossing his arms. Mum threw him a look and he frowned. "Fine. But leave the boringers off."

"That's the brakes, Doctor. You've got to turn off the brakes." Mum crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side.

"Here, food's done!" Cauden passed out omelets to anyone who wanted one, and forks too. He took off the apron and smoothed his shirt out before stabbing into his own meal.

Everyone finished eating in minutes, and soon we were following the Doctor onto the TARDIS. I showed my friends to the room dad said they could use, and Dad and Mum fought over who was driving. Again. 

"I'm going to take those boringers out. They are going to disappear!" Dad was yelling, and Mum laughed, as the TARDIS started up and we were traveling through space and time.

"First stop! Cauden's birthday!" My mum called out, and the rest of us cheered.

We stepped off the TARDIS into a dreary day, twenty-three years into Cauden's past. The sky was covered in dark clouds, threatening a storm. Dad made Cauden stay in his room, because apparently he'd had trouble before when he took a companion into her past. It hadn't ended well, so Cauden had to stay on the TARDIS. Kourtland and Jesse opted to keep him company. 

Calico and Ronnie stepped up, standing on either side of me. "Those clouds look..." Calico tipped her head back to stare at the darkness above.

"...ominous." Ronnie copied her. I did the same, and a raindrop landed on my nose.

"Come along! We've got some investigating to do!" Dad rubbed his hands together, grinning that manic grin. 

"Dad, it's raining. And shouldn't I be one of the ones to stay with Cauden?" He had said I had to go with him. I wiped my hair out of my face, shaking my head a bit. It was practically pouring already, and I was just waiting on the thunder.

"No. I need you with me." He shook his head.

I sighed and crossed my arms. "Mum?" I glanced beyond my father at her, hoping she'd take my side.

Dad turned to look at her. "River. We talked about this, remember?" Apparently he thought she'd take my side too. 

Mum sighed and shook her head. "Sorry Sweety, I have to agree with your father this time."

I sighed and nodded. "Okay." I wasn't about to argue with them, they could ground me to a distant planet.

"Come on. Jesse and Kourtland will keep an eye on him." Ronnie grinned and threw his arm around my shoulders.

"Yeah. He'll be alright." Cali wrapped an arm around my waist. 

"Yea. Alright. Let's go!" I smiled and wrapped my arms around my friends, and we started forward to explore. 

The TARDIS had landed in an alley, out of the way of the chaos we found in the streets. People were running around, panicked looks on their faces. We almost smacked right into a man that looked familiar. His brown eyes were troubled, and his brown hair stuck up like he'd been running his hands through it a lot. He stopped in front of us suddenly, his eyes widening. "Ah, you're him!"

He was looking right at dad, who stuck his hand in the pockets of his trousers. "Excuse me?" Dad blinked, cocking his head room the side. I let go of Ronnie and Cali, stepping closer. "Him who?"

"You're the Doctor!" He smiled a bit, running his hand through his hair. I gulped, wondering if he was friend or foe. 

I curled my fingers around my dad's jacket, looking up at him. Mum stayed quiet, studying the man as well. "Dad?" I was a little worried, I'll admit. Most people that knew of Dad always brought trouble.

"It's alright, Adrian. Just... stay with your mother..." he sounded bewildered, and he pulled his hands out of his pockets.

"You best send the child away. It's not safe for our kind right now." The man looked nervous, glancing about like he expected someone to attack at any moment.

Dad was silent as he studied the man, chewing on his cheek. "Nope. I don't remember you. Who are you?" He cocked his head the other way, squinting his eyes.

"Jaxon Brisby. At least, that's what I go by now." He held his hand out, and dad gripped it tightly, still staring at him.

"Brisby.... Dad, that's...!" I started forward, but Mum pulled me back, shaking her head.

"Spoilers, dear girl." She smiled.

"Right..." I nodded, eyes wide. This was Cauden's father! I could see bits of Cauden in his face, in his eyes.

Mr. Brisby started suddenly, as if remembering something. "I have to go! God, my wife..." he took off running, and Dad ran after him.

I grinned at Mum, who mirrored my expression of excitement, and ran after them. "Come on, Ronnie! Calico! Let's go!"

We followed Mr. Brisby all the way to the hospital, inside and up to the fifth floor. The Maternity Ward. I slowed down a bit and looked around. There were nurses and mothers and fathers walking around. Some were holding infants in their arms, some were still with child, and some might have been on their way to see their children. We followed Mr. Brisby to a room, and crowded around the door. 

"How is she?" He was asking a nurse inside.

"Just fine, Mr. Brisby. You're just in time." As she smiled and said that, a yell could be heard from in the room. 

I leaned forward to see into the room. The woman in the bed had dirty blonde hair plastered to her head. Her eyes were squeezed shut in pain, her teeth clenched tight.

I wanted to go in, but I stayed back. This woman, Cauden's mother did not know me. She probably didn't want a strange teenage girl in the room whilst she gave birth. 

Well, I tried to stay back.

I was pulled in, along with my parents. The.room was just big enough to fit us all in, if we stayed at the edges. "Averill, Darling! It's the Doctor! And his daughter, there's a child like ours!" He pulled me close to her and I blinked, blushing.

"Um, hello, Mrs. Brisby." I managed a smile. Her eyes were a soft green, filled with pain and kindness. A rare mixture of emotions. "My name's Adrian." I furrowed my eyebrows a bit and glanced at Cauden's father. "How do you know about my dad?"

"You mean, how do we know he's a Time Lord?" Mr. Brisby smiled as he held his wife's hand. I gulped and nodded, licking my lips. A glance told me that both my parents were just behind me and my friends were still at the doorway. "We know about the war." The man glanced at his wife and then at my dad, mum and me. "We know what happened. What you, Doctor, had to do to end the war."

I stood very still. They knew. How did they know? I tried several times to speak. Failed each time to make my voice work. So instead, I took the time to study these two, to see what their reactions were. I could feel the tension behind me, both my parents seemingly unsure of how to take this information. I glanced at Ronnie and Cali, both looking confused. Right, I'd never explained the war to them. I'll have to do that later. 

The studying would have to wait. Mrs. Brisby reached out for my hand as another contraction hit, and I sucked my breath in at the strength she had. She looked so fragile there, yet held my hand in a death grip. I think I blacked out for a moment, but next thing I knew there was a baby in the woman's arms. He wailed and cried, his face blotched red. I gasped and smiled.

"He's beautiful, Mrs. Brisby." I leaned forward and stroked his hand, which the babe grabbed a hold of. He squinted at me and calmed down, and I smiled. 

"Thank you." Mrs. Brisby was breathless as she cradled her son, tears in her eyes. She blinked and followed his gaze. "He likes you." She sounded astonished and amazed.

You have no idea. I wiped a tear off my own cheek and smiled wider. "I guess I have a way with babies." 

The little bit of awe halted when the nurse came rushing in, a panicked looked on her face. "They're here! We need to get him to safety!"

In just a few minutes, the babe was diapered and wrapped in a blanket. He was crying again, and it took everything I had to not go to him, to comfort baby Cauden as he was hastily prepared for departure. 

"There's only one place he'll be safe. Please, you must take him to Kodomo!" Mrs. Brisby was talking to the nurse, trying to soothe little Cauden. My hearts each skipped a beat when I heard her mention the planet I had grown up on.

I went straight to them and nodded. "Kodomo is a very good choice. I grew up there, it's the safest place for children." I blushed when I saw their curious gazes, and I swear I could feel their judgements. Cauden's parents' and the nurse's. "Long story. But the point is, Mrs. Brisby is right. It's safest." When the nurse still didn't agree, I turned to Mum exasperated. 

"Mrs. Brisby, why don't we let Adrian hold your son while we discuss this. We don't want him to get stressed at so young an age." Mum smiled and stepped forward. A minute later, she handed baby Cauden to me, smiling gently. "Let Ronnie and Cali see him. But stay in the room."

I nodded, holding him close. He had quieted down as soon as he saw me, yawning. I smiled and carried him to where my friends stood. "Meet baby Cauden!" They leaned close and pulled the blanket away from his face.

"He's so cute!" Cali grinned and stroked his face a bit, enthralled.

"He looks like a potato with arms an legs." Ronnie chuckled and poked his cheek.

"Be nice!" I scolded him, grinning. "He's a cute potato."

My dad leaned in over my shoulder and held out his sonic screwdriver, scanning little Cauden. "Two hearts. So, how...."

"How did he have just one?" I finished his question. Huh. Then what.....

"Give up the child and surrender!" The voice was loud, almost mechanical. My dad stiffened and pulled me back, stepping in front of me.

"You stay with me. You do not leave this room. Do you understand, Adrian?" His tone was serious, which scared me. He was only serious when he knew something bad was about to happen. "Adrian, you stay here, no matter what happens."

I nodded, then stopped when I realized he couldn't see me. "Y-yea. I- I'll stay." My voice trembled, and little Cauden started to fuss. I looked down and smiled, bouncing him just the slightest. He calmed down, and I sighed in relief.

Mum stayed near Mrs. Brisby, and dad and Mr. Brisby stood between the rest of us and the man that stood in the doorway. Calico and Ronnie were now standing on either side of me.

The man in the doorway looked almost normal, if it wasn't for the strange horns on his head. They stood several inches tall, not unlike a devil's horns. His skin was tan, like he liked to be in the sun a lot, and his hair was pure white. From where I stood, I could see his cold gaze scanning the room with glowing red eyes. He wore a military looking uniform, with a dangerous looking weapon trained on all of us. "Surrender the child and you shall not be harmed." His voice sounded strange, like a recorded track. I tightened my hold on little Cauden, my hearts speeding up. As I stared at him, the man's expression changed. His red eyes shifted to me, and he looked curious. "Another. Two hearts. Excellent." He grinned, showing pointed teeth. "We shall take both."

My hearts dropped at the man's words. What did he mean by "take them both."? I glanced down at baby Cauden in my arms, who looked up at me with big curious eyes. 

"See, I have a problem with that." My dad spoke up, shifting his weight. "This is a protected planet. You can't just steal children from here."

The man still smiled, running his.tongue along the sharp ridges of his teeth. "We shall take them both. We shall take both Gallifreyan children." 

I backed up as far as I could, bumping into a wall. The man's grin didn't waver, and his eyes were freaking me out. 

The man stepped into the room, his teeth flashing a bit in the light.

"Hey you! This way!" A voice yelled from the hallway, and the man stumbled forward a bit before he spun and ran. 

 

~Cauden's POV~

I paced the length of the control room in the TARDIS, running my hands through my hair. I wanted, no needed to be out there, keeping Adrian safe. How was I supposed to protect her if I had to stay on the damned ship? I counted my steps as I paced. 

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Turn. Repeat.

I sighed. "What's taking them so long?" 

"Cauden, dude. Calm down. The Doctor is out there too, she's alright." Kourtland grabbed my arm, but I yanked myself away. "You're not the only one worried. Jesse and I have friends out there too."

I sighed again and sat down on the floor. He had a point. But it was different with Adrian and me. I've known her my whole life. I buried my face in my hands, and barely noticed when Kourt sat next to me. I enjoyed the silence with my best friend for a few minutes.

"Oh hell..." he sucked his breath in, and I glanced over to see his phone.

I squinted at it, and could read the message from Calico: 'thrs a bad guy, we r stuck. Pls come help! He wants Adrian 2!'

My hearts both skipped a beat, and I couldn't breathe for a minute. Adrian was in danger. I swallowed the lump in my throat and stood up, pushing my fingers through my hair.

"Aw shit... Cauden! You can't go out there!" Kourtland called at me, but I was already stepping outside. "Cauden, man! Come on, the Doctor won't let him have her! Shit."

His voice was cut off when the door shut, and I stalked down the road towards the hospital. I could see the building from here, so it wasn't hard to find. 

I was inside in no time, and it wasn't hard to find the room Adrian and everyone were in; there was a man in the doorway, holding some sort of weapon. And sure enough, when I looked in, Adrian stood against the back wall with a bundle in her arms. Was that me? As a baby... I smiled. But then the man stepped forward, and my hearts thumped against my ribs.

No. He couldn't have her.

I ran forward and pushed him, making him stumble. "Hey you! This way!" I yelled and ran away, glancing back to make sure he followed.

Thankfully he took the bait and began chasing after me through the hallways and away from the others. At first I was able to keep a good distance between us but he seemed to speed up the longer we ran and for a minute I though he was actually going to catch me. 

Luckily I found the staircase and burst through the door, sliding down the railing. I almost lost my balance, at first, but I was able to make it to the turn and land to start down the next flight.

I ran hard, finding it easier to run than before I died. I had so much more energy! I jumped down the last few steps and busted out the door, finding myself outside. 

I really hoped this worked.

 

~Adrian's POV~

I blinked when the man ran out, my mind taking a minute to process what had just happened. Dad processed faster, spinning around and setting his hands on my arms. 

"Get that child to the TARDIS, now!" He spun back around and went to my mum. "River, go with her. Take Cali and Ronnie. Get her to safety. If you have to leave me here, then do it."

"What, Dad, no!" I went to him, still holding baby Cauden close. "Dad, we can't leave you behind!"

He stayed silent and turned to Mr. and Mrs. Brisby. "We'll make sure your son is safe. And I'm very sorry for what I had to do to end the war."

"Come on, let's get out of here." Mum put her arm around me and gestured for Cali and Ronnie to follow. The nurse, who's name I still didn't know, started after us as well. 

We ran back to the TARDIS, and I was never happier to see that beautiful blue box!

 

~Third POV~

The Doctor gave a pained smile at the couple in the room before racing out to follow the man who wanted his daughter. He held his sonic out in front of him as he ran, the device picking up a trace of the alien.

He rounded corners and sped down the wet streets, his shoes slipping just the slightest. He had to find him! He needed to know who had distracted the alien. He was sure it was someone he knew.

After quite a few blocks, it was apparent he had lost his chance to catch them. "Dammit!" He stopped and bent forward, resting his hands on his knees. He was soaking wet from the rain, and slightly out of breath. He grimaced and turned, straightening up. He ran again, straight to the TARDIS. He smiled a little at seeing it still there, and he opened the doors. Adrian stood directly in front of him, tears on her cheeks and fear in her eyes.

"Cauden's not here, Dad!"

 

~Adrian's POV~

"What do you mean, Cauden's not here?" Dad looked stunned and almost out of breath. My lip trembled and I scrubbed my face with my hands. The nurse had baby Cauden now, and was feeding him a bottle. "You just had him, didn't you?"

"Yea, no, baby Cauden's fine. My Cauden is gone! Kourtland said he ran out when he read a text from Cali on Kourt's phone." I took a step forward and rested my head on my father's chest, trying to hold back the panic that threatened to surface.

"Ah. Um, I'm sure he's alright." I sighed when I felt his arms wrap around me, holding me tight. 

"Dad, what if they realize he's the one they want?" I squeezed my eyes closed and gripped his jacket in my fists. "What if they... hurt him?"

"See, that's why I told him to stay here!" My dad rubbed my back a moment before I found myself in my mum's arms. "Calico, you and that phone!" 

I buried my face in Mum's neck, squeezing her tightly. "Mum, make him stop... it's not Cali's fault!"

"Doctor! We need to focus..." Mum tried to stop him, but he was ranting nonstop now. 

"Wait! What could have distracted the Daemon? And that voice... It was familiar... No, it couldn't be... But yes! No... Ahh yes! That's insanely brilliant all while being completely reckless!" I glanced over to see him shoving his fingers through his hair while he paced, arguing with himself. He turned and left the TARDIS, his jacket flapping behind him. 

"Mum, what-" I looked up at her to see her shake her head. "I have to go with him. I need to find Cauden." I pulled away and ran after my dad, not caring that it was still raining. I caught sight of Dad running ahead and pushed myself to catch up. After a few minutes, I started calling for him. "Cauden!"

I yelled for him until my throat was sore, and finally found him. Kind of. I ran straight into him, falling to the ground.

"Adrian! What are you doing, you're supposed to be getting away!" Cauden helped me up before enveloping me in his arms.

"No! I can't leave you here! I lo-" I stopped, burying my face in his chest as i squeezed him tight. I realized I had never told him.

I never told him I loved him.

"You what, Love?" He stroked my hair, as wet as it was. I gasped softly and shook my head, suddenly nervous. "Adrian? What is it?" He pushed me away from him and held my face in his hands, like he always did. I was forced to look into his warm brown eyes, seeing his worry.

My cheeks heated under his gaze and I licked my lips. "Um... Cauden, I- I love... you." My lip trembled while I waited for his reply, scared out of my mind that I would be rejected.

 

~In the TARDIS~

"Adrian! Dammit!" River song reached for her daughter as the girl ran off. She started after her before a cry from behind her stopped her in her tracks. She turned to see a fussy baby Cauden and relaxed a bit. Then she silently slipped out the TARDIS doors. 

She jogged down the street, keeping her eyes open. The rain plastered her hair to her head, and she had to constantly wiped the rain out of her eyes to see. She finally spotted a familiar figure in the rain; the Doctor.

"Doctor! Where's Adrian?" She looked around and panicked when she didn't see her daughter. 

"She's not with you? I left her on the TARDIS... " he shoved his hands through his hair and stuck them in his pockets.

River smiled, shaking her head. "She's just like you. And she's worried about Cauden." She grabbed his arms and pulled him close, kissing him. "Lets go find our daughter and get her back to safety."

 

~Adrian's POV~

My cheeks were warm and I was really nervous. Did I say it too soon? Did he love me too? What if he hated me? 

All my doubts were shattered when he pulled me closer and kissed me. I sighed in relief and kissed him back, gripping his shirt in my fists. The world faded away, and it was just us. 

Until it wasn't. 

My eyes flew open when I felt him being ripped away from my arms. "CAUDEN!" I screamed for him as the white haired man, the Daemon, dragged him away. I felt hands on me, pulling me the other way. "NO!" I struggled to go to him, but arms wrapped around me tightly. 

I barely noticed when my dad ran ahead, wrestling with the Daemon. I couldn't look away as the Daemon pulled free and ran, taking Cauden with him.

Lightening lit up the streets and thunder crack less than a second later. The rain poured harder than ever, hiding my tears. I sobbed, and found myself being carried away. I squeezed my eyes closed and buried my face in my mum's neck as the rain disappeared. A blanket was thrown around me and I curled up where I was.

"What happened? Where's Cauden?" I heard someone ask, but I couldn't distinguish the voice. 

"He's still out there. We needed to get Adrian inside and safe." Someone answered, I think my mum. "The Doctor is out there, trying to help Cauden."

I pushed myself up, trying to stand up. "I I, I need to find him. Mum, I have to find Cauden!" I pulled on the blanket, but was having trouble getting it off. "I need... I..." I started sobbing again, and my mum pulled me close. "I can't handle him dying again. I can't!" 

"I know, sweety, I know. He'll be alright. Your dad's going to save him." She held me close and stroked my hair. "Cauden will come back to you."

 

~Cauden's POV~

I pushed Adrian away from me and held her face in my hands, staring at her intensely. What was she trying to say?

She blushed, and licked her lips. "Um... Cauden, I- I love... you." her lip trembled and fear flashed in her blue eyes. I watched as a million emotions paraded through her gaze. She looked worried.

I pulled her close and kissed her, pouring my love into that one gesture that was so simple. The world faded, the rain turned into mist, and only she and I existed in that moment. 

Then I was pulled away roughly, and I heard her scream. I struggled against my captor, tried to get away, back to Adrian. The Doctor was there, but the man who was trying to take me pushed him away. 

I grit my teeth and bucked around, swinging my fists and kicking as much as I could. I twisted around to see Adrian being carried away, then darkness.

 

~Adrian's POV~

I managed to snap out of my self pity trance and stood, heading to the wardrobe to change. I found stretchy black jeans and a long sleeved black sweater, both waterproof. I kept my boots and tied my hair up into a ponytail to keep it out of my face. I added a headband and a pair of dry fingerless gloves before I was finished. 

"I'll be right back. I can't just sit around and do nothing." I smiled at my mum, who surprisingly didn't try to stop me.

"Just be careful, yeah?" She pulled me close and I hugged her tightly. My eyes teared up a bit.

"I will." I smiled again and went to the nurse, who held baby Cauden. "Hey little guy... hang in there for me, alright?" He cooed as I kissed his forehead and headed out of the TARDIS. 

It was still raining, and my hair was replastered to my head in no time. I spent a moment to look around, get my bearings. And spotted my dad running around down the ally, waving his sonic around. I jogged to him and grabbed his arm. "Dad!"

"Adrian, what are you doing out here?" He spun towards me and grabbed my arms. "You're supposed to stay with your mother, stay safe!"

"I'm not going to sit around while Cauden is out there!" I pulled away and looked around, trying to pinpoint where I was. 

"Adrian.... just, come back safe." I smiled at my dad and nodded.

"Always." I spun around a few times and took off running down the street, smacking into someone almost immediately. "Ah, sorry... " 

"It's alright. Why are you running so quickly?" I looked up into the face of Jaxon Brisby. 

I licked my lips before answering. "They took Cauden. Adult Cauden. He was the one who distracted the Daemon."

"That's my son's na-" Mr. Brisby's smile faded, and his face went straight, devoid of emotion.

"Yes. I know Cauden as an adult. We're from twenty-three years from now. Give or take a few months." I flashed a smile and looked around. "Except while we were... Um, well he was taken."

"Taken." 

"Yes sir. And I need to find him." I looked into the man's eyes before spinning around again. Well, I tried to. Mr. Brisby grabbed my arm and spun me back towards him. "I need to hurry..."

"Who are you to son?" 

I blinked at him, trying to fit all my thoughts into one answer. "I... am... his protector, and the one he protects. I am the one who loves him, and I'm pretty sure, I'm the one he loves." My chin trembled and I cursed at the tear that rolled down my cheek. My voice dropped to a whisper and I clutched his arm. "Please, let me find him. I can't lose him again." 

To my surprise, Mrs. Brisby appeared beside her husband. "We'll help you." She gripped my shoulder tightly. "I heard what you said."

I nodded and looked around, spotting my father running towards us. "I found where he was taken!" He yelled, spinning and running in the other direction.

I glanced at Cauden's parent before taking off after my dad, almost slipping on the wet street. I crashed into his back as he stopped in front of a rundown shack. "Oof! Dad, what-" 

"Shh." He righted himself and hushed me while the Brisby's caught up. "In here..."

I didn't wait to hear anymore. I pushed past my dad and went straight to the door of the shack, putting my ear against it. And fell through it. 

 

~Third person POV~

The Doctor reached for his daughter too late. He watched in horror as she disappeared through the illusion. "No! Adrian!" He ran forward and stuck his head through the fake door, coming face to face with a deep hole.

"Doctor, what's in there?" Mr. Brisby touched the Doctor's shoulder.

"No no no. This can't happen, not this way..." the Doctor ignored the Brisby's and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, aiming it down the shaft. "Adrian! Are you alright? No no no no...." he checked the scan and grit his teeth. 

"Dad... go save Cauden!" The girl's voice drifted up, full of pain and followed by coughing. "I- I'll be alright! Just go save him!"

The Doctor took a moment to compose himself before looking around, finding a pull down ladder right above his head. "I will, and then I'm coming back for you!" He aimed his sonic up at the metal ladder, and it fell down in front of him. "Do you hear me, Adrian!? I will come back for you!"

"Doctor, what's wrong with her?" Mrs. Brisby stepped through the fake door, followed by her husband.

"She fell a very long way down. She's hurt. But she'll be alright, I'll come back to get her when he is safe." The Doctor started climbing, mumbling about how clever the whole illusion was. 

He led the Brisby's up the ladder and emerged into a circular hallway. "What is this place? Their ship?" Mr. Brisby went to the wall and flattened his palm against, marveling at the pulsing energy he could sense, accompanied by a low humming.

"Yea. Cauden's this way." The Doctor followed the signal on his sonic down the hall. The humming got louder as they moved farther in, and the Doctor came to a stop in front of a door. He soniced the door open and stepped through, the Brisby's on his heels. "Ah, see? There he is..."

Cauden was strapped to a metal table, wires hooked to him all over. He grinned and waved two fingers. "Oh, Doctor. I wondered when you'd get here. You mind helping me?" He looked past the Doctor and frowned. "Where's Adrian? And who're they?" 

The Doctor went to Cauden and started messing with the straps on his wrists. "Ah, they're your parents." He got one loose and went to the straps on his ankles.

"Oh. Well, hello there. Um, wow." Cauden worked at his other wrist as he rambled. "I've always wanted to meet you. You look good..."

"Oh my..." Mrs. Brisby covered her mouth, tears gathering in her eyes. "You're so handsome!"

"Uh, thanks. Mum." Cauden grinned again and turned to the Doctor, finally free from the metal table. "Where's Adrian? Is she safe?" His face went serious as he studied the man in front of him.

The Doctor was silent for a moment. "She fell and got hurt. We need to go get her."

Cauden's face went pale and he spun to leave, only to be stopped by the man with the white hair and horns. "You cannot leave! Your energy is needed!" He stepped forward and reached for Cauden.

"No! Wait! We're his parents!" Mr. Brisby and his wife blocked the Daemon's path.

"Take our energy instead. Please, let him go." Mrs. Brisby pleaded, her cheeks wet. "Please. We'll be double the energy, right?"

The Daemon considered this, and while he was focused on the two older Brisby's, Cauden slipped out, followed by the Doctor. He turned and bashed the Daemon on the head, looking at his parents. "Thank you. I love you both."

"Go, save your love." His mother smiled at the son she would never get to hold again as the Daemon came to.

Cauden nodded and ran off, following the Doctor to the ladder and the hole.

"She's at the bottom." The Doctor started down the ladder, reaching ground level in no time.

"You just left her there?!" Cauden glared at the Doctor when he touched ground.

"She wanted me to save you first. Last time I didn't do as she asked, bad things happened." The Doctor scanned the area with his sonic, searching for a way down. "I think we're going to have to-"

"I'm getting a rope. I saw one outside." Cauden ran through the illusion of a door and grabbed the long rope sitting coiled up on the ground. He tied one end around his waist and handed the madman the rest of it. "I'll bring her back up."

The Doctor nodded and gripped the rope, lowering Cauden down carefully. Thankfully, the rope just barely reached all the way down, and the Doctor was able to tie it off onto the ladder. "Cauden? How is she?"

Cauden's voice drifted up, echoing off the walls. "She's fading fast! Doctor, what do I do?"

"Hold on! I'll be right down!" The Doctor grabbed the rope and started down, sliding most of the way. "Ow ow ow..." he landed on the ground at the bottom, waving his hands in the air. "Rope burn..."

Cauden sat on the ground, holding a bleeding, broken Adrian in his arms. "Doctor, I think-"

"I know. It'll be okay. She's my daughter, remember?" The Doctor laid Adrian on flat on the ground gently, pulling Cauden to his feet. "Adrian, you'll be alright."

"I know, dad." Adrian whispered, coughing. "It just hurts like bloody hell." She attempted a smile, got halfway there.

"Adrian. I didn't get to tell you..." Cauden started.

"Shh, Cauden. Tell me when we get back to the TARDIS." She groaned loudly, and suddenly there was a golden light emanating from her body...


	4. Birthday Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some parts of this chapter were written by dear friends of mine, so some of it is a bit different than the rest of the story.

Chapter Four: Birthday Surprises

I coughed and sat up, then stood up with the help of Cauden and my father. "Whoa, that felt weird..." I blinked. My voice sounded different... I looked down at my hands and noticed they were still slightly glowing gold. "Two hands, two feet..." I reached up and felt my hair, finding it long and loosely curly. I brought a lock of it to the front and grinned. "Brilliant! I'm ginger!"

"You're Scottish!" Cauden circled around me and I spun around to look at him.

"You're alright!" I jumped into him and discovered I was still a lot shorter than him. "Thank God..." he hugged me tightly.

"That is so unfair! Why do you get to be ginger?"  
My dad pouted, his arms crossed over his chest.

I pulled away from Cauden and went to the Doctor, hugging him. "Sorry dad, it wasn't on purpose you know." 

He hugged me tightly as well, kissing my head. "I am so so sorry, Adrian."

"What are you sorry for? I'm alright, aren't I?" I pulled away and smiled, looking around. "How do we get out of here?" I smiled wider, loving my new accent. I sounded like my grandmother!

"Ah, yes. How..." my dad looked up, and scanned the area with his sonic.

I spotted the rope and tugged on it, testing it's strength. "What if I climb up, and pull you guys up? Or can you climb up as well?" I started up before either one of them answered, stopping a few feet up as pain gripped my body. I coughed hard for a moment, gripping the rope for dear life. A golden mist drifted into the air, and I remembered the last time Dad had regenerated. So this was normal.

I made it up the rope and onto the ground level in no time. I turned to see Cauden climbing up behind me, my dad not far behind him. "We can climb up ourselves." Cauden smiled.

"What's up the ladder?" I looked up the ladder, trying to see the top.

"The Daemon's spaceship." My dad straightened his bow tie, a guilty look on his face.

"Dad, what's wrong?" I cocked my head to the side, my hand testing on the ladder.

"Cauden's parents are up there..."

Again, I didn't listen for long before I took off up the ladder. "Adrian! Wait!" Cauden yelled up at me and I stopped, looking down. "We can't help them. We need to get out of here. They sacrificed themselves so we could get away safely." 

I climbed back down and stood in front of Cauden. "I'm sorry. I guess it wouldn't do me any good to get captured, would it?"

"No. Let's go." He grabbed my hand and we went outside.

It had finally stopped raining, but there were still dark clouds in the sky. We walked down the street towards where we had the TARDIS parked.

Then pain wracked through my body again. I fell to my knees, clutching my stomach and coughing violently, another golden mist drifting from my lips. "This... this is rough..." 

"Are you alright?" Cauden asked as he helped me up and wrapped his arm around me. I nodded and we continued walking.

My father was silent as we walked, and kept glancing at me. "Dad, is everything alright? I don't look hideous or something, do I?" My hearts quickened at that thought.

"No no. Just different. Your mother is going to kill me." He smiled and sighed, pushing a hand through his hair.

I frowned. Mum was going to kill me, too. I promised her I'd stay safe. Instead I'd almost died and regenerated into a different person. And what about my friends? They knew me as the previous me, would they hate me now? And Cauden....

"Stop worrying, Love. Everything will be fine." Cauden smiled when I looked at him. "One thing hasn't changed, I can still read you like a book."

I blushed. "Sorry. This is my first regeneration. At least you still look the same." I tossed him a glance and caught the sight of a lock of my hair. I needed a mirror...

"What day is it, according to the phone I gave you, Adrian?" My dad suddenly blurted out, spinning around to face us. 

I jumped and dug in my pocket for the smartphone he had given me a few days ago, looking at the date. "Um, the sixth day of the tenth month..."

"Just four says..." dad turned back around, his hands behind his back, and continued down the street. 

"Four days til what?" Cauden looked down at me, confused. 

I grinned up at him. "My eighteenth birthday, of course. I almost forgot!" Cauden grinned and kept staring at me a moment. "What?" 

"I love your new accent." He chuckled.

"Me too." I grinned again and looked forward, finding Ronnie, Jesse, Cali, and Kourtland all waiting for us where the TARDIS should have been. "Hey guys. Where's the TARDIS? And Where's my mum?" Pain ripped through me again, and I clutched onto Cauden as I coughed out more golden stuff. "Ugh, that hurts..."

"Oh my God, what happened!?" Cali ran to me and looked me over. "Adrian? Is that you?"

I smiled. "Yea. I fell down a hole." My smile turned onto a grimace. "That hurt too... I regenerated..."

"You're Scottish!" Ronnie laughed, pulling me to him for a hug. "Nice!"

I laughed too, pushing him away. "Ow, Ronnie, I can't breathe..."

"Yes, careful with her." My dad smirked. "She's still cooking."

Then, Cauden grinned at our friends, a gleam in his eye. "Adrian's birthday is in four days."

 

~Third person POV~

River Song flipped switches and pushed levers, making sure the breaks were off. She was taking the nurse and baby Cauden to Kodomo. Once they landed, she turned to the nurse. 

"This is the best place for him." She smiled, watching as the nurse pulled out a dropper filled with a slightly glowing purple liquid.

"This will make him seem human until the right time comes along." The young nurse fed the baby the liquid, and cringed when the boy started screaming. "He'll be alright. It's a bit of a painful process." 

River watched in concern until the baby quieted down. Then she took the baby and exited the TARDIS. She found the headmistress quickly and got Cauden settled. "You'll see me again in a few years." She smiled sadly before she left, headed back to where the others waited. She planned to talk the Doctor into taking them all shopping. Her daughter's birthday was in four days, after all.

 

~Adrian's POV~

I sat in the little cafe with my friends and my parents, sipping a hot cup of peppermint tea. Everybody had commented positively on my new look, and I had changed my clothes as soon as I had the chance. Now I wore a mint green Sundress and white vans. I had a panda hoodie draped over my seat. 

Dad had taken us to a planet full of shopping malls, and given my friends, Cauden and me all credits to spend. I was leaning on my mum, who kept checking me over to make sure I was really alright. I was enjoying the attention, honestly. 

"I told you to be careful. Between you and your father, I'm going to gray way too early." Mum shook her head, her arm around my shoulders. I smiled, leaning my head on her shoulder. "Thank heavens you're part Timelord..."

"Oh mum, you don't have to worry so much, you know." I looked up at her and she smiled. 

"So what's the plan then?" Ronnie folded his hands on the table and leaned forward, and I snatched up a chocolate from a plate in the middle.

"River and I will be taking Adrian with us awhile, while you kids do what you need." My dad smiled at Mum and me before grinning at my friends. "We'll all meet back here when we're finished." Everyone nodded their understanding.

"Everybody have their phones on, and everyone's numbers?" Mum checked her own phone, one dad had given her when he'd given me mine.

"Yea, we've got them." Calico smiled and stood, grabbing Kourtland by his arm and dragging him up. "We'll be off, then!" They left the cafe, Cali grinning and Kourtland smirking.

"Phone and numbers, check!" Ronnie grinned and stood as well, followed by Jesse. He circled around and messed up my hair a bit before they too, left.

Cauden's stood then, and I followed suit. I went to him and hugged him. "Stay out of trouble, okay?" I mumbled. 

"I'll try. I'll call you if there is any trouble, alright?" He kissed my head as he squeezed me. I nodded and looked up at him, and he kissed my lips, sweet and gentle like.

"Alright alright, let's get going then." Dad grumped, and I smiled. 

"See you later then." I stepped back to find my mum standing, and she put her arm around me.

I glanced at my parents, curious. "So. Where are we going?" 

 

The Doctor and River 

~Adrian's POV~

I munched on a piece of cheesecake as my parents and I wandered through a mall, this one specializing in weapons. It had caught my eye for some reason, the ads for swords and the like especially appealing to me. Well that was new. 

I wore my hoodie with the hood up, panda ears sticking out and my hair on either side of my face. I was silent as we walked, the cheesecake taking up a lot of my attention. I was eating it slowly, savoring the flavour and texture.

"What do you want for your birthday this year?" Mum wrapped her arm around my shoulders and steered me around a group of teenagers from Chiplee, a planet in the galaxy next to the Milky Way. I glanced up just enough to see their blue skin and red hair.

I thought about it for a minute, taking another bite of my cheesecake that was almost gone. I looked around a bit and spotted something as we passed a store full of Japanese ninja weapons. Amongst the throwing stars and knives, poison darts and paper bombs, sat a lone blade. I migrated towards it, handing off my cheesecake to one of my parents. It was sheathed in blue, the colour of the TARDIS, and the handle was wrapped in the same colour. I reached out for it, wanting to see the actual blade.

Almost there.... 

I tripped a few feet away, colliding with another customer with their arms full of throwing stars. I was pulled up quickly, and the poor kid looked.scared.

"Oh my gosh, are you alright?! I'm so sorry, I was thinking about something, and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, and I-" 

"Hey, I'm alright, calm down!" I grinned to prove it, but winced when my right cheek stung. I touched my cheek, and brought my fingertips away wet and sticky.

"Oh my gosh you're bleeding! I'm sorry, let me find you a first aid kit, there should be one around here somewhere, seeing as there's sharp objects everywhere..." he spun around to find something but was stopped by my mum.

"It's alright, we've got it handled." Mum smiled and led me away, fussing over the cut. "I hope it doesn't scar..."

"I'll be fine, mum. I've had worse." I cringed, remembering just how I'd gotten my current look. A few days ago. 

"Don't remind me." My mum went real quiet then.

"Right. I'm gonna go somewhere safer, I'll meet you guys in the food court?" I attempted a smile, wanting to be alone. I was embarrassed at my sudden clumsiness, wondering if the fall that had caused my regeneration stuck with me. I ran off before she could answer me, leaving the mall and heading to another. 

My hood had fallen, letting my hair flow freely, and by the time I found a mall that interested me, my hair was wind blown. I entered the mall, finding it to be a toy store. I didn't get very far before I tripped, again.

"Ow... this is complete rubbish..." I mumbled to myself, pushing myself up and sitting on my bum. Where I discovered that I had skinned my knee.

"Oh God, are you alright?" I looked up into the face of a blonde girl, barely older than myself. She was reaching her hand down, offering to help me up.

"Um, yea, thanks." I smiled and placed my hand in hers, and she pulled me up quickly. She helped me to a nearby bench, and I winced. 

"Oi, you're bleeding!" She tilted my face so she could see the cut, digging through her pockets with her free hand. "I've got a bandage somewhere..."

"Oh... it's alright, really. I got this cut back there." I hooked my thumb towards the weapons shop, smiling sheepishly.

"Where the weapons are? What, you fall on something sharp?" One of her eyebrows raised, and she finally pulled out a green band-aide.

My cheeks burned with embarrassment, and I bit my lip. "Something like that, yea." I averted my eyes from hers. "Thanks for the bandage. My name's Adrian, by the way. Adrian Pond." I looked back up and watched her apply disinfectant to the scrape on my knee. 

"Nice to meet you. I'm Rose Tyler." She smiled as she bandaged my knee. That name sounded familiar... "Where are your parents?"

I blinked at her, sighing. "I left them behind. But I'm nearly eighteen, I'm not a kid."

"Oh, sorry. You just look so young!" She smiled and sat next to me. "Why'd you leave them behind?"

I chewed on my lip a minute before answering. "I was embarrassed. I... had fallen a few days ago, and ever since I've been tripping over my own feet." 

"Ah." She was quiet a moment, before she completely changed the subject on me. "So where you from?"

"Ah, That is..." I blinked, then looked at her. "My mum never told me where I was born. But I was raised on a planet called Kodomo. I might have been born on Earth, actually. I'll have to ask." I shrugged.

"Okay. Where are your parents from?" She leaned over, and our shoulders touched.

"My dad... Dad is from a far away galaxy, and is the last of his kind. Well, until recently anyway." I smiled over at her. "My mum was born on a different planet... but my grandparents are from Earth."

"Adrian! There you are!" I looked up to see my mum standing in front of us. "Why'd you run off?"

I shrugged and stood. "Well, it was Nice meeting you, Rose. I'll see you around, maybe." I smiled at my new friend and went to my mum, limping just the slightest.

"Yea, I'll see ya." She waved and walked off, and I leaned into Mum.

"Who's that?" She watched Rose leave, wrapping her arm around me.

"A friend."

 

~third person POV~

The Doctor handed over the correct amount of credits, grinning. "She's gonna love this!"

 

Face Your Fears (mini adventure with Cauden)

~Caudens POV~

I stood in the middle of the side walk, a few streets away from where we had all been seated. I wanted to find something special for Adrian but I wasn't even sure where to start. I've never really had anyone to buy a gift for so this was going to be difficult.

I began walking some more, stopping to check each window as I passed by. There were so many things to choose from but no matter how nice they were, nothing stood out. I wanted to get her something special, something no one else would think to give her.

I continued walking, heading the next street over. I was just rounding the corner when someone ran into me, knocking me back on the pavement.

"Ah hello! Sorry about that but I'm trying to find my friend. She ran off in this direction. Have you seen her?" He extended his hand out and helped me back onto my feet before he began to search his pockets. He wore a pinstriped jacket and tie, his hair was a bit of a mess, and his brown eyes looked everywhere as he went through his pockets. (A/N: that's right! It's Ten! XD)

"Her name's Rose. She has blonde hair and... Hold on I had a picture right here.." He continued to dig, pulling random objects out, throwing some to the ground and others he placed in different pockets. 

"No I haven't. I'm not from around here, just stopping by to get a gift for a friend." I chuckled to myself as I watched his reaction to each object.

"Seems I've misplaced it... I'm the Doctor by the way, and you are?" I stared at him dumbfounded, trying to process all the possibilities of how the Doctor was standing in front of me when I had just left him with Adrian not even an hour ago. 

"I'm Cauden, don't you remember me?" This time he was the one staring at me confused.

"You're not working for the Master, are you?" He squinted his eyes and raised his brow.

"The Master of what?" 

"Never mind that." The Doctor slipped his hands into the pockets of his trench coat and instantly lit up. 

"Ah ha! Here's the picture of Rose." He held it out to me and I took it, looking over the picture. 

"No, I haven't seen her but I'm sure she hasn't gone too far. I'm not really having any luck with finding a gift for my friend so I'll help you. Maybe I'll find something along the way." 

"Right then!" The man turned and pointed in what seemed like a random direction. "This way, I think!" 

"You think? You're not going to get me lost, are you?" Not that it was that big of a deal, I could just call Adrian or someone to come find me... "why did your friend wander off anyway?"

"She saw something she wanted." He shrugged, said that explained everything. "I was distracted and lost sight of her." He mumbled something about silly humans and telling her to stay near while we walked, looking into every store we passed. "What's this, then?" He wandered into a store filled with small figurines, people and creatures of every kind on the shelves. "Hmmm. These are very lifelike..."

I put my hands behind my back and scanned over a few, recognizing a few of the more human-like figures. Or at least, what I knew of them. There were Nameplates below every one, and I read them as I passed by. "Amelia Earhart, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Benjamin Briggs, Agatha Christie, ..." these were all people that had mysteriously disappeared or couldn't be proven dead... "Rose... Hey, Um Doctor? What was your friend's full name?"

"Ah, Rose Tyler. Why?" He appeared beside me, peering at the little blonde figure on the shelf. "A little too lifelike..." he pulled out his sonic, which looked a bit different than the one I'd gotten used to, and scanned the figure. "Oh dear... this is not good..." he picked her up, and it dawned on me. 

These weren't replicas. These were the actual people, shrunk down and somehow frozen! I glanced at the Doctor to see his face twisted in a mixture of pity and agony. "Doctor, how did they..." I couldn't finish the question.

"I'm not sure. Unless..." he whipped around and stalked to the counter at the back, fury now adamant on his features. "Fix my friend." He glared at the person behind the counter.

The person was not human, with blue skin, bright red hair and yellow eyes. He stood tall, the only clothing on him a loincloth covering his lower half. "I'm sorry. What do you mean?"

The Doctor set the figurine of Rose down on the counter, placing his hands on either side and leaning forward. "This human is my friend. Fix her."

"I cannot. She was overwhelmed by her fears, unless she can overcome them, she will stay that way. Would you like to purchase her?" The blue man smiled, his white teeth a shocking difference on his face. 

"No no, not Rose, you don't understand!" He leaned even closer to the man, beyond pissed. "You can't just shrink people an sell them!"

"Yea, what the hell!" I chipped in, not wanting to imagine what these people were feeling.

"But we can." The man kept smiling, and I shivered. The last guy that smiled that much almost killed me, and had killed my parents. "And we do."

I scoffed and turned away, running a hand through my hair. I spun back around, but probably moved to fast because I was instantly hit with a wave of dizziness. I leaned against the wall a moment, shaking my head to dispel the light-headed-ness.

"Doctor, what are-" I found myself alone, even the blue man was gone. I blinked and turned to leave the store, thinking the Doctor had just left without saying something. He did that, sometimes. A person was walking by, so I went to asked if they saw him. "He's about this tall, wearing a tie, possibly holding a figurine..."

I asked several others, and by the time I looked around I had no idea where I was. Except for by that damn store, and I gulped, reaching into my pocket for my phone. I unlocked the device, but nothing happened. The screen stayed black, and as I continued to try and make it light up, it dawned on me that it was dead. I swore at it, shoving it back in my pocket. 

This wasn't good. I was lost, with no way to get a hold of anyone.... my hearts picked up speed as I fully realized my situation. I did not like to be lost. 

My mouth went dry, and I ran my hands through my hair again. I looked around, trying to find a map, or a security guard, or anything that could help me get back to my friends. 

"This can't be happening. This can't-" I tapped my fingers on my leg as I walked back and forth, and the beginnings of panic started to cloud my brain. I shook my head, knowing I needed a clear mind to figure this out. 

I turned a few corners before I found myself in a halway. It was all white here, and the lights in the ceiling made the walls and floor too bright. I walked down the hallway, and came to a stop. I could either turn left or right. Both ways looked identical. I saw a flicker of movement from the right, so I turned that way and picked up the pace a bit. Another fork, another flicker. I followed the movement, hoping it was someone who could help me. 

Left, right, right, left, straight, on and on and on and on. And then I was in one long passageway. At the end I could barely make out the outline of a door. 

In front of that door stood a girl in a mint green dress, with red hair. She was barefoot, and wasn't wearing the jacket from earlier, but I knew it was Adrian. I breathed out a sigh of relief and stepped towards her, looking into her blue eyes. 

"Adrian! I thought I wasn't going to see you again! I got lost, and my mobile died." I grinned and pulled her to me, breathing in the scent of her strawberry shampoo and the scent of space that lingered on her skin. I won't admit it, but being lost is the worst thing I could think of, next to losing this girl right here. 

"Its alright, we're together now." Her voice drifted over me like a blanket, and I relaxed in her arms. "But there's people after me. We must let them find us!" I pulled away from her and cupped her face in my hands, leaning down to kiss her, sure we were safe. 

She wrapped her arms around my neck, tangling her fingers in my hair while she kissed me back. I pulled her closer, one hand on the small of her back while the other still cupped her cheek. I heard a sort of moan, knew it came from her, and I pressed her into the wall behind her. Electricity sparked where we touched, and I could feel her emotions, almost read her mind. I could feel her desire, and I knew she could feel mine.

We pulled away, panting to catch our breaths, and our gazes locked. "Adrian, I -"

"Shh!" Her finger was on my lips and her head snapped to the side. "They've found us! We have to go, Cauden, we have to run!"

"Wait, what?" I frowned, confused. Was there something after us? Again?

She shook her head. "I'll explain later. Just come on!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me through the door I had seen a bit ago. Only to stop dead in her tracks. A group of men dressed in black stood, weapons at the ready and aimed at us. Their clothes greatly clashed with the white interior of the room, and I paled. "This isn't goo-" before she could finish her thought, a shot rang out, nd she crumpled to the ground.

"No! Adrian!" I dropped down to her, pulling her into my arms. "You'll be alright, Love! Just regenerate, alright? Come on, Love, please..." I held her tightly as I inspected the wounds. Two bullet holes adorned her chest, one on each side.

One for each heart.

I glared up at the men, a pain stabbing into my chest and ripping apart my insides. "What have you done!?" I pressed my hands to the wounds, trying to make the blood stop leaking. Tears obscured my vision and I leaned over the love of my life. My soul mate. She managed a weak smile before she faded away, and a sob broke through my throat. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!"

I jumped up, after making sure my Adrian was lying comfortably, and ran at the men. I let my rage pour out, and I felt the fear. I was scared. Adrian was gone, my world was gone! The only reason I had to live was lying on the floor in a puddle of blood, dead.

I screamed at the men, the sound of a pained animal tearing it's way out of my throat. 

I was alone. I had no one. I was alone! 

I ripped the men apart, shooting them with their own weapons, killing them all. And then I sat on the ground and weeped. Cradling her in my arms, I begged for her to come back to me.

"Please, please don't leave me!" I sobbed into her neck, my hearts breaking into tiny pieces.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
"-uden! Cauden!" A voice drifted through the fear and pain, and I blinked. "Ah, there he is! See Rose? I told you they'd fix him too!"

I looked up to see the Doctor, the one in the tie and pinstripes. Next to him was the figurine, human sized. "What... what happened? Where's Adrian?!" I scrambled up and looked around, seeing a bunch of security officers arresting a small group of blue people. 

"You got caught in their trap, like I did. And I'm sure..." Rose peered at me, tilting her head. "Wait, red hair? Blue eyes? A bit clumsy?"

I nodded, shivering a bit at the thought of being stuck in that fear forever. "Yea, about this short..." I held my hand to Adrian's height.

"Oh she's fine!" She waved her hand around, grinning. "She was with her mum last I saw her! Pretty girl."

"Yes." I found myself smiling. "She's beautiful."

"Huh. Well, I've found my friend, so we'll be off! Thanks for your help!" The strange Doctor waved a hand and led the human away, calling out one last word. "Allons-y!"

I shook my head and chuckled, pulling my mobile out. I was relieved to see it on, with a mostly full battery. I stuffed it I'm my pocket and glanced up in time to keep myself from colliding with a person. 

"Oh good, you're still here. Cauden, take this." It was River Song, Adrian's mum. She held out a silver trinket. 

"What is it?" I took it and examined it. It was a fob watch, encased in delicate silver that was more a piece of art. A light blue stone sat in the middle, the colour of Adrian's eyes.

"That'll be needed soon." Her voice was grave, serious, and it gave me chills. "Don't tell where you got it from, past me will figure it out." She gave me a tight smile and vanished, quite into thin air.

"Cauden!" I heard the most beautiful voice and turned, putting the watch into my pocket. 

"Adrian!" I wrapped my arms around her waist, picking her up and spinning her. "Oh I had the most terrible time, I was in a fear trap, and they'd killed you...." I buried my face in her hair, relishing in the feel of her solidness.

"You were scared, wernt you? Oh Cauden!" She pressed herself closer. "I'm okay, I'm alive!" Hearing her say that calmed me, and I took a deep breath, pulling her away.

"You are." I smiled down at her and kissed her, almost not seeing her parents standing there. "Thank God you're alright."

 

 

~Ronnie and Jesse~

"Hurry up Ronnie!" Jesse dragged Ronnie along through the mall. "We have to both find something for Adrian before it gets too late!"

Ronnie groaned, his feet aching, although he grinned as well. He loved Jess, but this was the third mall they had found. "Babe, can we stop at the food court; my feet are killing me and I'm dying for something to drink. Anything, really. It could be piss warm for all I care."

Jesse grinned at Ronnie. "Well, we'll just have to test that theory a little later won't we?" He chuckled a little darkly. They circled to he ufdle of the mall to find something to drink while they rested their feet. They found a table for two and sat, ordering their drinks. "I wonder what the sign meant by 'Earth water'?" Jesse sipped from the bottle he had bought.

"I dont know babe, that is different." Ronnie drank from his own bottle, gulping it so that some spilled over. It ran down his chin and onto his neck.

"Damn that's sexy. You know how to say all the right things without even noticing, don't you Ronnie?" Jesse eyed his boyfriend as a female walked up to their table.

"Are you guys new here?" She asked when Ronnie smiled at her.

"Yeah, we are new. We're time-" Jesse started, only to be kicked in the shin by Ronnie.

"Well, I'm Gemma." The woman extended her hand to shake theirs.

"Nice to meet you Gemma. I'm Jesse and this is Ronnie." The man nodded his head, smiling warmly.

"I couldn't help but hear your conversation about Earth water. You really don't know what it's supposed to be?"

"No, we really don't, but this water is the best." Ronnie licked his lips with a smirk.

"Its the last of the water from First Earth. A ton of it was bottled up before First Earth died. Its the last thing left, besides a few plants and the humans that moved to other planets." Gemma giggled. She leaned towards the boys suddenly. "I feel like I've met you before." She squinted, then mumbled when something got in her way. "I can't see properly with this thing..." she removed a mask on a stick, the only features left were her eyes. She leaned closer to Ronnie. "Has anyone ever told you that you have pretty eyes?"

"No, no one really has except for my boyfriend." Ronnie gestured at Jesse. "So how in the world did you manage to do that?" He pointed to the half-face that was on a stick, the bottom of the stick resting on the floor.

"Oh you mean this old thing." She clunked the stick on the floor. "Well, long story short, I've been cursed to live this way for the rest of my life. My body will never be complete again." She frowned. "I did some... bad things a while ago."

"Damn that sucks." Jesse finally snapped out of shock a bit.

"Yea, it does suck." Gemma smiled half-heartedly. "So what are you two fine gentlemen doing here at the mall?"

"We're looking for birthday presents for a friend of ours. We've looked through three different malls and haven't found anything." Jesse sighed.

Ronnie groaned again. "That's 'cause you can never settle on anything. First it was a puppy, then it was a life-sized Cauden doll, and then there was that pleasure Droid three thousand. And you still can't decide on anything."

Gemma readjusted her face. "I have an idea boys, why don't I show you around? Maybe we can find something your friend will like." Ronnie and Jesse agreed and stood, following their new friend out of the food court. "Maybe you'll find something in here." She pointed to out a nearby store called 'Everlasting Memories'.

"What kind of store is this?" Jesse asked excitedly.

"Well, they take pictures and make them move. Like, say you have a picture of you kissing Ronnie. They would take the photo and put some sort of.... well it's patented, but it makes the picture move. So it would show you leaning in to kiss him and stuff." Gemma explained, grinning.

"Oh, I have this one picture on my phone of all of us when we first met met Adrian that would be perfect for this!" Ronnie pulled out his phone and started sliding through the pictures in his gallery. "Nope, not that one," he blushed, swiping until he found the right one. He showed it to Jesse with a smile.

"Its perfect!" Jesse smiled and kissed Ronnie on the cheek. "I'm going to get it a frame to go with it and get it for Adrian. I think she'll love it to the end of the galaxy and back!" He grabbed Ronnie's phone and sent the picture to himself before he went to find a frame.

Ronnie eyed his arse as he walked away, drooling just a bit.

"Well aren't you completely whipped." Gemma smirked, causing the man to blush furiously. 

"That wasn't for you to see..." he his his face in his hands, his ears still red as a tomato.

Gemma laughed hard, and when she finally caught her breath, she asked, "so what do you plan on getting for your friend, what was her name, Adrian?"

"I don't know yet. I figured I'd get her a gag gift with an actual gift, so I'm kinda shopping for two presents right now." Ronnie shrugged.

"Have you tried Spencer's yet for your gag gift? They're always good." Gemma asked, smiling.

"You're kidding me, they still have them things around?" Ronnie jumped in place excitedly, while Jesse joined them with a wrapped gift in his hand. "Come on, Gemma has a place to find my gift!" Gemma and Ronnie grabbed Jesse's arms and pulled him with them as they rushed out o& he shop to the nearest store. 

"Gag me already, you're getting her a present from Spenser's, are you 16 again or something? Like its like every tween and goths favorite place to shop besides hot topic." Jess said with a groan.

"Come on, its only for a gag gift babe!" Ronnie said while kissing his temple and hugging him. 

"Fine." Jess sighed.

Gemma lead them to the back of the store. "I think this is the part your're looking for..." the wall was covored in sex toys and sexy lingerie, funny cards and genital shaped candy.

Ronnies eyes lit up with excitement and picked up a pair of cuffs. "Nah, too simple for Adrian. But for me and you,Jess, these are prefect. I'm buying them." he said to Jess, who had a mortified look on his face. "Dont worry, I'll be nice" ronnie said with a cheshire grin on his face.

Jess looked away blushing and noticed a shelf of books and walked over.

"Kamasuitra books? Didn't think you would be looking at this stuff you naughty boy." Ronnie churrped and made Jess jump and blush.

"I'm not looking at them... I was just distracted and walked over." jess replyed shy like.

"Hmmm that does seem like a good gag gift; I think I'll get this for Adrian. But what one to pick, there's just so many..." Ronnie picked up a book to examine it.

"'101 sex postions for the alien galaxy man'... that dosen't seem like one Adrain needs." Ronnie said as he sat the book back down.

"This one will do." he said as he picked up another book.

"The first book of kamasuitra. I think she will laugh to death with this one, and its the most simple one; I've even did some of the moves in this book." Ronnie said as he looked over his shoulder and winked at jess.

"Well then buy it and see if they will gift wrap it for you so we can get out of this store. The more I stand here, the more I want to blush with every statement you make Ronnie." Jess said through his hands that were now covering his face.

"Fine lets go, I'll check out and then we can go look for the last present and be done."

Ronnie payed for the book amd led the way out.

"Well, now we're down to just finding one present; but what should I  
get her...?" Ronnie pondered with a big huff of air.

"Well, what does she like alot?" Gemma asked while pondering of what every teenage girl needs to complete life.

"Well, she got stuck on this fling about the Disney version of Tinker Bell. Maybe we can find something like that for her." Jess said with a shrug.

They passed by a mall merchant who waved them over. "You three there you look like you could use a good present for a young kid, and I  
have the best around! Won't you come inside and look around?" the merchant said with a big grin.

"Child at Heart, that sounds like a good blace to shop for something Tinker Bell related." Gemma said with a smile.

"Alright lets check it out, but only for 5 minutes." Ronnie said as they walked into the store.

"I promise you, this store won't disapoint you." the merchant said as he followed them into the store.

"There's nothing here though." Jess said while looking around at all the posters and empty shelves.

"That's because they're all hiding!" the merchant said as he led them to the back of the store where the cash regester sat.

"Here I'll show you what I'm selling." he reached behind a curtain and pulled out a box that said store product.

"They're special, and I'm the only one that sells them." he pulled out a case that said 'gremlin'.

"Omg you have one of those!? Is it like a stuffed animal or something?" Jess asked with a grin.

"Oh its more then that my friends." he opened the box and set him on the counter.

"This is very old science that enchants toys and makes them live. They think and they speak and walk all on their own." He said as he waved his hand infront of the small figure and its eyes blinked.

"Did that things eyes just move?" Gemma asked as she took a step forward with intrest.

"This, my friends, is Gizmo." the merchant says as Gizmo came to life and started moving around the counter with intrest in things.

"Now, this model dosen't talk, but most of my other models do. They're just around." he said as he looked around his shop. "Dont worry, they're good people!" he said, and the whole room started moving with little action figures that ranged from animes to old cartoons.

"This is amazing, I want to buy them all!" jess says as a Bugs Bunny came up to his foot and started kicking it.

"This is awesome, but we are looking for a specific type of toy; do you by chance have a Vidia doll from Tinker Bell?" Ronnie asked the merchant.

"I think I still have one in stock. The whole Tinker Bell thing sold out fast. Let me check in the back really quick. You guys are in luck, there's one left and shes still in the box!" the merchant said and handed it over to the kids. "Alright, that will be 49.95 credits with tax and I can gift wrap it for you too."

"That will be great!" Ronnie said as he handed over the credits and took the bag with the toy in it. "I think she will love it and I cant wait for her to open it."

"Well I think we better get going." Jess said and nodded to Ronnie, who follows him out of the store with Gemma close behind them.

"Well I think that's all our shopping done for the day! Thanks Gemma for showing us around, but we really need to go now so we can catch our ride out of here." Ronnie smiled.

"Oh, it was not a problem!" Gemma said with a smile. "Its been the most fun I've had in a long time, and I'd do it all over again."

"Thanks again." Jess said to her and shook her hand along with Ronnie doing the same.

"Maybe we will meet up again one day in the future." Jess said.

Ronnie mumbled under his breath, "or in the past."

 

~Calico and Kourtland's Date 

~Calico's POV~

Kourtland and I stood for a minute after everyone else had left to go shop for Adrian's gift. I already had an idea of what I wanted to get her, I just had to look around for it. 

It was a phone case, with a picture of Adrian and I, but it changed as Adrian got new bodies. 

And I just now realized how wrong that sounds......oh well. 

It also changed as we both got older. I thought it would be sweet to get her something that would remind her of me. 

Kourtland said something about getting her a little key chain. 

Cool Dude. Go get it.

"C'mon, let's go," I grabbed his arm and dragged him to a technology store to see if they had what I was looking for. 

"Cali, slow down, damn!" Kourtland sounded out of breath, and I grinned.

I described what I wanted to the guy behind the counter, showing him a picture of Adrian and me I had recently taken. He told me to give him an hour and it would be ready. "Thanks so much! She's gonna love it!" I dragged Kourtland away from the techy toys and to the corridor, looking around at the shops. "Now. What did you want to get her?"

"A little charm, to put on her phone or something." He shrugged, scratching the back of his head. "I dunno. I just thought she'd like it." I smiled at him and nudged him, laughing when he shoved me. He went back in and I followed to see what he would find. He ended up sketching a 1950's police box, an exact replica of the Doctor's TARDIS. 

"Wow. That sketch is actually really good!" I grinned at Kourt, impressed.

"Shut up." He blushed and avoided my gaze. "It'd be cool if it lit up whenever she got messages or was getting a call or something." He pushed the paper towards the cashier guy. "Can you do that?"

"Yeah, actually. It'll take me a bit to get the design you want, but I can have it ready by the time her purchase is done." He pointed at me and picked up the sketch. 

"Thank you. We'll be back to pick them up soon, then." I winked at the cashier, and we both smiled at the guy before leaving. "Now what?" I turned to Kourt and grabbed his arm.

"Well, uh, we could, uh," he stammered, his cheeks tinted pink. I smirked and allowed him to try and find the words he wanted. "we could go and like, I dunno, get some coffee or something." He studied the floor, glancing at me.

My smirk widened. "You mean, like a date?" He stuttered some more and I sniggered. "I'd love to. There was a coffee shop back that way." I hitched my thumb back, pointing to the shop I knew was close by.

We wandered over to the shop and sat at a two person table, and soon a waiter was taking our order. He wore tight black slacks, a black button down and a white vest. His hair was three shades of purple with a red streak, and his eyes matched the lightest purple. His face was angular with a well defined nose, sharp cheek bones and outlined by his bangs. He smiled at us both, leaning all his weight on one leg. "What can I get you two cuties?"

I blinked and then grinned. "I'll have a large mocha." I looked around at the tables and tilted my head. "This is a really fancy coffee shop." A low light hung over every table, and soft alternative music floated in the air.

The waiter, whose nametag said "Hello, my name is Kevin", smiled sweetly. "Yes, well the owner is very adamant that we give our customers the very best."

I nodded and Kourtland ordered a large caramel frappe. Kevin wrote it down and went to place it at the register. "It is nice." Kourt looked around as well, nodding in appreciation.

"Yea. I hope the drinks are good too." I smiled at him, placing my elbows on the table and leaning on my hands. We chatted about random things while we waited, mostly about how we thought things were going at home and if anyone noticed we were gone.

Our drinks came, along with a wink from our waiter and an offer for extra whipped cream. Which Kourt and I both accepted. 'Cause whipped cream.

We spent a few minutes then, enjoying our yummyness in silence. The waiter wandered over again, setting two muffins down on or table. I blinked and looked up, kind of confused. "We didn't order any muffins."

"These are on the house. Two delicious muffins for two gorgeous people." He winked at us -like one eye literally closed while the other stayed open- a smirk on his lips.

If I already didn't have my sights set on someone else (namely Kourtland), I would have asked Kevin when he got off work.

We finished our treats and paid the bill, making sure to tip our waiter handsomely. We walked silently back to the shop, arm-in-arm. The guy that had taken our orders for the charm and case had even gift wrapped them in shiny blue paper. I grinned and paid him, tucking the packages in my arms as we started back towards the TARDIS. 

"Think she'll like them?" Kourt shuffled his feet and I smiled, finding his little bout of anxiety adorable. 

"Of course. She would like anything we gave her." I leaned up and kissed his cheek, laughing as I left him to blush alone as I entered the blue box.

 

~One Last Gift

~Adrian's POV~

I sat on the floor in front of Cauden, Cali and Ronnie on either side of me. The day had finally come; my birthday! I was finally eighteen, sort of. According to how long I've been alive, not the year.

"What do you want to open first?" Amy, my grandmother, smirked, raising an eyebrow. "You've got quite a few choices this year."

I tilted my head and pursed my lips, twirling a strand of ginger coloured hair around my finger. I pointed to the smallest package. "I'll start with that one." I decided, smiling. It was a small box, a little card that said 'Happy Birthday! From Kourtland.' attached to it. I ripped open the paper and opened the little box, grinning at the tiny charm inside. "This. Is awesome."

Kourtland rubbed his neck, glancing at Calico. "It's a phone charm. It lights up and everything."

"He designed it himself, sketched it out for the molder." Calico grinned, elbowing him in the side. "He's actually a formidable artist!"

I grinned in thanks and pointed out the next one, another small box. I opened the present and gasped at the silver locket inside. "Gram, this is amazing!" inside was a picture of mum and dad on one side and Gram and Gramps on the other. 

"I'm glad you like it!" Amy grinned, looking satisfied.

The next one I opened was from Cauden, wrapped in simple brown paper. It was another jewelry box, containing a silver faux watch encased in a delicate silver covering. I leaned back to look at him, and his eyes were so filled with love...

Another package was placed into my hands abruptly, by Ronnie. He was grinning widely, and winked at me. I opened the paper and my cheeks immediately turned red. It was a Kamasutra book. "Seriously?" I mumbled, avoiding many gazes. He handed me another box, and inside I found a small figurine. "What's this?"

"It learns as you go. It's like a little companion." Ronnie grinned, flipping the box around to show me. The figurine looked like Vidia from Tinker Bell, and I grinned wide.

"Thanks. This is awesome." I nudged him over and he chuckled.

The next package in my hands was from Cali. Inside was a phone case that held a picture of me and her. I grinned, pulling my phone out to put it in. "It will change when you regenerate next. Well, it's supposed to." Cali laughed, leaned into me.   
"That's really cool." I put my new charm on the case, setting them all aside. The next gift was from Jesse, and I suppressed my surprise. I didn't think he liked me enough to get me a card let alone a present. Inside the paper was a really nice frame and a picture of the all of us. The picture moved, showing Ronnie slinging an arm around my shoulder while Cali glomped onto me. Kourt was trying to pull Cali off, and Jesse was kissing Ronnie's cheek. Cauden stood behind me kissing my head. "Wow. Jesse, this is so astonishing!" I grinned at him while he blushed bright red.

I opened a katana from my parents and a giant stuffed panda from Gramps. One more package sat on the coffee table, with the address on it and my name. I opened the thick brown paper carefully, reading the note inside. 'Happy birthday! You'll see me soon. Stay strong. -J' I frowned and opened the jewelry box, lifting the delicate silver charm bracelet out. There was a little panda head, and tiny Hershey kiss, a little silver kitten and the letter A.   
I studied each trinket, and scowled when the bracelet was snatched by my dad. He pointed his sonic at it and frowned. "It's just a normal bracelet. Who's it from though?" 

"Does it matter? Dad, give it back. I like it." I pouted and held my hand out expectantly. I hooked it on my wrist when he finally handed it back (with help from a glare from my mum), reveling in the cool metal against my skin.

~*~

Gifts were stacked on a table, all opened, and the cake Amy had made was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, mostly gone. Laughter and chatter floated around, and I took a deep breath, enjoying the sight of my friends and family gathered around. We played video games until late, and eventually Amy and Rory kicked us out so they could sleep. I hugged the two goodnight before heading out the door behind my friends, carrying my new things with me. 

We were back on the TARDIS for the night, seeing as there wasn't enough room at the Pond house for everyone. I smiled at everyone and bid them all goodnight, heading to my room. Cauden followed close behind, helping me to carry some of my gifts. He took my hand as we walked the maze of corridors, and I leaned into him. After a bit of silence, I broke it, glancing up at him. "This year was the best birthday I've had in a while." I said it quietly, but my voice still bounced off the walls a bit. 

"Yea?" He smiled down at me letting my hand go to wrap his arm around me.

"Yea. Its fun with friends around." We walked in silence to my door, and I smiled at the sight of Cauden's door next to mine. The TARDIS had moved his room, and I knew my dad wouldn't like that much. I went to my door, opening it before turning back to Cauden. "Goodnight."

He handed me my stuff and pulled me close to kiss me, cupping my face in his hands like he does. "Goodnight, Love. Happy birthday."

"Aww." I pulled away to see Cali smirking at us, and I blushed.

"Shut up." I grumbled, failing to keep my smile off my face. "Night Cali." I went into my room and put my new stuff on the desk before going to my wardrobe, pulling out my PJ's. I went to the bathroom and showered before slipping them on, a plain white tank and black short shorts. There was a knock on my door then, and I answered it to find my dad and mum standing there, smiling at me. 

"Did you have a good day?" My mum placed her hand on my arm.

"Yea, the best. Thank you." I smiled back at them and hugged them both.

"Don't stay up all night. New adventures start tomorrow." Dad kissed my head before he headed to his own room. He always said that, because that's what our life was. One adventure after the next.

"Right. Night dad." I waved and turned to mum. She was giving me that look. The I'm-your-mum-and-I-know-you're-old-enough-but-I-will-find-out look. I just smiled innocently at her. 

"Adrian..." she sighed and hugged me tight, kissing my head like dad had. "I love you. Be careful." She mumbled the last part, and I fought to keep the blush from my cheeks.

"I love you too, mum. G'night." I pulled away and watched as she headed to my dad's room before I went in and locked my door.

I looked around my room and noticed that there was another door. If I was right, this wall was the one adjacent to Cauden's room...

I was proven right when there was a knock on the new door, and it opened to reveal the man himself. He wore a pair of black sweats, his hair mussed and his chest bare. "New door." He smirked, patting the door frame in thanks to the TARDIS. 

"Yea." I smiled, running my hands on my tank I wore for bed.

Cauden padded his way to me, placing his hands on my waist. "Very convenient. This door." He leaned in as I leaned up, my hands on his chest.

"Yes." I breathed out the word, my hearts pounding in my chest as fast as I could feel his. I was lost in his brown eyes, and I could feel my mind connect to his. It is convenient. I heard his breath catch as we explored each other's souls, and I assumed he'd heard my thought. I tested my theory, thinking 'I love you.'

'I love you too.' The thought from him was as clear as if he had said it aloud, and I grinned.

I blinked, and noticed that our foreheads were touching. Our breaths mingled and his lips brushed mine, softly kissing me. His moved his hands around and pulled me closer as the kiss deepened, and I rested my arms on his shoulders. We sent each other thoughts of love, and he pushed me farther into the room. The door between our rooms clicked shut, and our hands explored each other's bodies. His fingers brushed the skin between my shirt and shorts and I shivered at the fire that they left. 

He tugged my tank over my head, sending thoughts of love and appreciation. He ran his hands over the simple lace of my bra, trailing his lips down my neck as he lowered me to the bed. Our thoughts turned into images as we got heated, and the night stretched into a steamy, intimate exploration.

ⓒⓐⓤⓓⓡⓘⓐⓝ


	5. This Life

Chapter Five: This Life

 

~Adrian's POV~

I folded the last pair of trousers and put them in the drawer, humming as I finished my chores. I could hear the children laughing and playing, and I wished so dearly I could take care of them all for good. But most didn't stay, and they'd all be gone to another city before long. There was only one boy who stayed, and that's because my husband and I are the only ones he's ever known.

I caught my reflection in the looking glass above the drawers and sighed. My red hair was pulled up into a slightly sloppy bun, and my skin looked pale. I blamed the paleness on the glass and went to start supper before the kids came complaining.

My husband and I were lucky. We weren't rich, but we were far from poor. We had enough to live on, and enough to feed the children that were orphaned and on the run for one reason or another. It felt good to help them.

Our house was a simple two story, with two rooms upstairs and three rooms downstairs. My husband and I shared the smallest upstairs room, and the children spread out to the rest. I made my way down the stairs and into the kitchen, passing the six children that were currently staying with us. 

Two of the boys, Adam and Anthony, broke off from the little pack and approached me, their little faces cleaner than when I first found them. "Missus Lyons, Adam an I are gonna head off." the older of the two stood tall, trying to hide his anxiety by looking tough.

"Alright. You boys send word when you reach where you're going, you hear? And be sure to find good jobs." I smiled kindly at them and patred theire cheeks. I turned and grabbed a knapsack I kept near the stove and handed it over. "Here's some bread and cheese to get you by for a few days. Make it last."

Adam took the sack and nodded, smiling back. "Yes ma'am." With tbay statement, the boys left, leaving me with just four children left.

The two girls and youngest boy ran by then, gathering at the door to wave off the older children. Rebekka and Laina, sisters by blood, stood hand in hand with little Dean in front of them. The little trio had become close recently, the girls becoming motherly when it came to the youngest charge of the household. 

Then all too soon, the roudiness picked up again as Dean pushed past the girls to run into the other room. An object flew after him, and I turned to catch the culprit.

"John, could you not throw things at the other children?" I fixed my gaze on the four-year-old boy holding his pencil up. My voice stopped him dead in his plans, and he peeked up at me sheepishly. "Put your pencil down, please."

"Yes ma'am." The boy did as told and ran to my side, hugging my legs.

"Good. Now go on and play." I supressed a smile and patted his head, and he scampered off.

"The children still acting up?" My husband sauntered in, his dark hair short and amusement in his eyes. He took off his blacksmiths apron and wrapped me in his arms.

"I've got them sorted, don't worry. Did you stop and get the papers from the Council?" I smiled up at him and hugged him, my chin resting on his chest. 

"Yes!" He pulled one arm away to reach behind him and showed the documents he held. "We just have to sign them, and he'll be ours!" We were adopting the youngest boy, having gotten attatched to him.

I pulled away and grabbed the papers, doing a little dance. "Yay! Oh I can't wait to call him our son!" I hugged my husband again and leaned up for an excited, passionate kiss.

Then we signed our names on the line, Adrian and Ronald Lyons. 

~~T~A~R~D~I~S~~

I smiled around at the people milling about as I walked beside my husband down the street, one hand tucked into his arm and the other holding the hand of our son, Dean. The Royal Court was holding a festival to celibrate the bountiful harvest we had had this year. There was to be a feast and activities for the young children. The children that were staying in our house were also attending, but were scattered around and enjoying themselves. I spotted Ronald's sister, Cali, and her fiancé, Kourtland. I waved them over, letting go of Ronald, who just took the opportunity to wrap his arm around my waist.

"Adrian!" Cali grinned and hugged me, patting Dean on his head. "So, is it official?" 

My smile grew, knowing she was talking about the adoption. "Yes! He is officially Dean Lyons!" I squeezed my son's hand, and he grinned up at us. I ignored the bit of dizzyness that overtook me, instead looking up as my husband squeezed my waist.

"I'm going to go get a few drinks with Kourtland. You two stay out of trouble." Ronald kissed my head and ruffled his sister's hair. Cali stuck her tongue out as the two men left. I smiled at the childish act as I bent to pick Dean up.

"Right then. What do you want to do first?" I smirked at the boy, glancing at Cali as he settled onto my hip.

"Food!" He raised his hands up, grinning happily.

We laughed at him and made our way to the Hall, where all feasts were held. I wasn't feeling very hungry, but I still made a plate for myself. Once we had piled our plates full, we sat at a table near the doors so that the men could easily find us.

~Ronnie's POV~

I followed Kourtland to a nearby bar, a little irritated that he had taken me from my family. We sat at a table with mugs of ale, and he leaned forward. "You seriously don't remember anything about the Doctor or Cauden? Or anyone?" 

I raised an eyebrow at him, confused. "What, you're bringing that up again?" Every time I saw the man, that's the first thing he asked me. He keeps telling me that I got caught up in some arc of some sort, that I was standing too close.

He shook his head and sat back, sipping his ale before making a face at the bitter alcohol. "Ronnie-"

"It's Ronald." I interrupted him, taking a big gulp of ale and sighing at the burning sensation it gave me.

He shifted in his seat a bit. "Ronald. You've got to remember something. The TARDIS, your b- Jesse, something." He was getting frustrated, I could see it in his face.

"Jesse... you mean Jesse Cole, the baker's apprentice?" I raised an eyebrow again, taking another drink from my mug.

Kourtland sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Dammit man." He shook his head again and slumped down. "Never mind. At least we're safe here, and the Daleks can't get to us. They don't know where we are."

And there he was mumbling about strange things again. 

I finished my mug and got up, tossing the man behind the counter some coins for the ale. I left the building and made my way to the Hall, my stamache rumbling in anticipation of the feast that waited. I caught sight of my wife near the door as I headed for the feast to load up a plate. 

"Dear husband, you are finished with drinks already?" Adrian looked a bit skeptical, yet amusement danced in her blue eyes.

"Kourtland was talking nonsense again. Seriously, Cali, I don't know what you see in the man." I shook my head as I sat across from my son, who sat between the two women.

"He means the best." She cringed a bit, smiling at me.

"I'm sure." I scoffed, not believing her. "He keeps telling me this life is fake." I shook my head again as I took a bite of the meat on my plate.

The women were quiet, only answering to Dean's toddler chatter as they ate their food. I pondered at what Kourtland keeps insisting on. Some of the stories he's told me matches up with some dreams I've had. As I thought longer, my head started to hurt horribly. I ignored the pain as Dean promptly announced he was finished with his food. 

Then the pain intensified, and my vision started to blur.

~Adrian's POV~

I looked up startled as Ronald dropped his spoon to the table, clutching his head. "Ronald! Are you alright? Whats the matter?" I stood and circled the table, kneeling at his side.

"Uh oh. He said this might happen..." Cali cringed, looking worried. She pulled out a strange shiny tube and pressed a button on it, keeping the thing under the table. The end lit up, and it emitted a strange noise.

"Whats that? What are you doing?" I glanced at her, rubbing comforting circles into my husband's back. 

"I'm sending out a distress signal to the Doctor, your father." She caught Dean as he tried to scamper off, holding him on her lap. "He said if Ronnie started to have bad headaches, to contact him. He said that the Chameleon Arc isn't supposed to work on humans. It could destroy his brain." She rambled on, sounding really worried.

"Cali, what are you talking about?" I was confused and worried. I shook my head when she didn't answer straight away, dismissing it. "We need to get Ronald home and in bed. Where is Kourtland?" I motioned for Dean to come to me while Cali went to find her fiancé. 

After a minute, she came back with Kourtland and the baker's apprentice. The two men helped Ronald back to the house while I carried Dean, Cali following close behind. I passed by Rebekka on the way and sent her to find the other children, to tell them where we were going. 

I put Dean to bed before filling a bowl with cool water from the barrel, grabbing a rag and heading to my own bedroom. Ronald laid on the bed, his face pale and sweat making his skin slick. I sat on the edge of the bed, wiping his face with the rag before dipping it in the cool water to repeat the task.

"He's burning up." Tears pricked my eyes, and I held them back as I nursed my husband. Kourtland and the other man, Jesse, left the room. Cali followed after squeezing my shoulder. "Please don't be too ill..." 

~~T~A~R~D~I~S~~

I was out for a walk with Dean, at the insistence of Cali. I had spent the last few days in the house, trying to nurse my husband back to health. His fever wasn't going down, and he hadn't woken up much. When he did, he mumbled nonsense about things I had only dreamt of, of traveling amongst the stars and of strange creatures that didn't exist.

I felt Dean tug my hand before he slipped away, running to an abandoned building nearby. "Dean, stay close-" I sighed and followed after him, smiling slightly at his eagerness to explore. I chased the little boy into an empty, abandoned building nearby, holding my skirt up a bit so that I could move quicker. "Dean, Love, did you find something?"

"Look, Mummy! She... she wasn't there, then she was!" I blinked at him, surprised at the amount of words he had just said. He never spoke much, and when he did it was to answer questions with one or two words, or just toddler's babble. Plus he'd never called me 'mummy' before, and it excited me a bit. 

I went farther in to see what he was talking about and saw a girl about my age, pressed against the wall. She was a bit pale, with black hair down her back and a frightened look on her face. "You mean, she just appeared out of nowhere?" I asked him, and he nodded vigorously. I wrinkled my brow, taking in her strange clothes as I scooped my son up in my arms. She wore tight black trousers and a dark, short-sleeved tunic-looking cover. She held a weird device in one hand that expelled a light, a cord attatched to it and her ears. Holding Dean close, I watched as the woman reached up and pulled the cord from one of her ears. She looked very confused and lost, but harmless. I supposed she wasn't from here, and her clothing matched those that the characters in my dreams wore. "Who are you? Are you alright?"

She didn't respond, blinking rapidly and looking around. 

"Adrian, what's wrong?" I turned to see Kourtland had followed us, and I felt a bit of irritation, knowing he had been behind me the whole time. Probably at Cali's insistance. I appreciated the thought of our safety, but I didn't need protection while taking a simple walk.

"Nothing, Mr. Phillips." I frowned, shifting Dean's weight on my hip. "We don't need a babysitter."

"I'm not... I was just trying to make sure you're alright." The man shifted from one foot to the other, running a hand through his hair. "Who's that?" he nodded at the girl, frowning.

"I don't know. She just kind of... appeared." I shrugged, turning back to the girl. "What's your name?" I asked again, tilting my head.

"Alexandria." her voice was quiet, and she didn't say anything more.

"Pleased to meet you! My name is Adrian, and this is my son Dean and our friend Kourtland Phillips." I smiled, holding out a hand for her to take. She shook my hand and raised a brow. I set Dean down as my head began to swim, and I staggered to the side. I heard my son call out to me before my vision became black.

 

~Kourtland's POV~

I ran forward and caught Adrian as she fell, cursing under my breath. I turned to the girl that stood nearby, scooping my friend up into my arms. "Listen, can you do me a favour and make sure Dean gets to the house? Plus, we can help you get back home." 

She nodded and grabbed the little guy's hand, and I took off at a fast walk down the street. I glanced back a few times to make sure she kept up, but otherwise I kept a steady pace. The door was opened when we got there, and a buch of kids stood in the way.

"Well move it!" I resisted the urge to kick at the blank looks they gave me, and one of the older girls pulled the others away from the doorway. I ran in and laid Adrian next to Ronnie, and nearly jumped out of my skin when Cali grabbed my arm.

"What happened? She was just fine when they left!" I ran a hand through my hair and took her by her upper arms, pushing her away gently.

"I dunno. She just collapsed, after she found her." I hooked my thumb at Alexandria before going to a hollow in the wall I knew was hidden. "We need to open the watch-"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, that will help. But only if she passed out because of this-" the Doctor stood there, scanning the two on the bed with his sonic screwdriver.

"She's been looking a bit pale for a few days." Rebekka spoke up from the doorway, holding the shoulders of John and Dean. "What's that, and who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor. This is a sonic screwdriver. Who are you?" the man waved the device as he spoke, taking the fob watch from me when I lifted it out of the box.

"I'm Rebekka. Miss Adrian looks after us. Is she really ill?" the girl stepped forward a bit, concern evident on her face.

"Just a bit, but nothing I can't fix! Now then, Kourtland, Jesse, Cali, please hold them down just in case. Might do nothing, might try to resist. We'll see." I shifted to hold Ronnie's shoulders down, while Jesse held down their legs and Cali held Adrian's shoulders. The new girl stood near the doorway, Dean clinging to her leg. I licked my lips as the Doctor released the clasp on the watch, a golden energy wisping from inside. The energy flowed into Adrian's head, and then some of it drifted to Ronnie. 

"Holy mother of-" Ronnie sat up with a deep gasp, leaning over the side and puking. I managed to jump away to avoid the splatter.

"Oh thank god." Jesse went to his boyfriend and held him close, and we all turned to a still unconscious Adrian.

"No no no no no no! Why isn't she awake?" the Doctor scanned her again, frantic until he read the results. "She's exhausted, physically. What has she been doing?" he spun and eyed Ronnie, who looked at the kids in the doorway. 

"She's been taking care of us, sir. And when Mr. Lyons took sick, she took care of him too." Rebekka looked up at the Doctor, tilting her head. "We tried to help wherewe could but she wouldn't let us."

"She's too stubborn, even as a human." Cali stroked Adrian's hair, smiling a little bit. 

"Right. Well come on! To the TARDIS!" he went to his daughter's side and picked her up, stopping in the doorway.

"We can't just leave these kids alone." Ronnie got up, pushing his way to the kids.

"We'll be alright, really." Rebekka smiled sadly. "I can look after them. But at least take Dean, because Miss Adrian would miss him the most."

Ronnie knelt in front of her, taking her hands. "We'll both miss all of you just as much. But you kids will be alright." he grinned and stood, pushing the kids out to let us all leave. "But you're right, I can't leave Dean here." 

"You can't take him on to the TARDIS." the Doctor frowned, adjusting his hold on Adrian.

"Dad, please." Cali grabbed my hand as Adrian's voice strained to our ears. "He's important. Look at him. His timeline. He doesn't belong here."

"Right. Fine." the Doctor pushed his way out, not putting his daughter down. 

Ronnie nodded and picked the kid up, eyeing the new girl before grinning. "Hi. Ronnie Lyons." she just blinked, raising a brow again.

"Oh for- leave her alone, Ronnie. You have a boyfriend." Cali smacked his arm before holding her free hand out to the girl; I still held the other. "I'm Calico Emerson."

"Alexandria." the girl shook her hand, then followed us all to the TARDIS. She let out a curse, and stared at the blue box. "Isn't that a bit small?"

I grinned as Cali pushed her inside, and the Doctor set a course on the console. "Nah. It's bigger on the inside."

 

~Cauden's POV~

It started out as a pretty dull day. We had landed on Earth, hoping to spend a few hours just wandering around in Cardiff while the TARDIS refueled. 

"Just, if you come across a guy in a WWII jacket, don't let him follow you back to the TARDIS," the Doctor had shuffled his feet, looking rather nervous. "Don't even let him talk to you, just-"

"Aw, doc, I'm not that bad!" a tall American man leaned against the TARDIS, his blue eyes twinkling. "Nice bow tie."

"Oi, bowties are cool!" the Doctor pouted, straightening said bowtie. 

Adrian giggled and shook her head. "No, they're really not." 

"Why hello. Captain Jack Harkness." the man grinned, holding out his hand. "And who are you?"

"Adrian," she took his hand, smiling up at him with red-tinged cheeks. I scowled.

"Oi, Jack! Back off, that's my kid!" the Doctor pushed Adrian away from this captain fellow, towards me. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close. I may or may not have glared at the American captain.

"You have a kid?" Jack scoffed.

"Yes, I have a kid. And a wife. And my kid has a- a-" the Doctor spluttered.

"Boyfriend." I finished, growling. "Adrian has a boyfriend. And that would be me."

Jack laughed, clapping the Doctor on the shoulder. "You've gone domestic!" 

"I have not!" the Time Lord argued back, then glanced at me, with my arms still around Adrian. "Alright, don't you think you've held onto her for long enough?" he spun back to Jack, and I let go of her. She grabbed my hand and the Doctor sighed. "Alright, I've gone domestic. So what?"

Adrian giggled again and pulled me away. "Come on! I want some chips!" 

"Alright. Chips it is, then." I grinned, glancing back at the two men. Our friends followed, each hanging onto their significant other. We made it to the chippy and had just placed our orders when there was an ear shattering scream from the kitchen. "Stay here!" I told the others as I ran to the kitchen, finding a dead employee and a giant robotic pepperpot. 

"Cauden, run!" Adrian screamed at me from right behind me, pulling on my shirt. I spun and pushed her in front of me, the others turning to run ahead of us.

"What is that thing?" Ronnie yelled back, pulling Jesse out onto the street.

"It's called a Dalek! Just run!" Adrian grabbed my hand, and I ended up in front of her. I held Adrian's hand tight as I pulled her with me, running from the great big bronze pepperpot.

The screams of the creatures reached my ears, sending chills down my back. "WE MUST CAPTURE THE YOUNG TIME LOORDS! YOU MUST COME WITH UUS OR GIVE US THE DOCTOOR!"

"Like hell!" I pushed my legs to go faster, thankful for my Time Lord biology when the respiratory bipass kicked in.

I rounded a corner, pulling her with me, and almost cried at the sight of the TARDIS sitting there. The Doctor stood by the box, holding the door open. "Come on! Hurry up!"

"Dad!" Adrian yelled, and I pushed her ahead of me. "Cauden, no!" she spun and reached for me, and I managed a grin before unmentionable pain ripped through my body and my vision faded.

~

I came to in a white room with one door and no windows. I hurt everywhere, and one of my hearts was stuttering just a bit. I let out a string of curses as I sat up from the floor, blinking around. I saw a camera in the corner and flipped it the bird. 

I managed to push myself up to my feet, leaning against the wall heavily. I pushed the pain still rippling through my body to the Jack of my mind just in time for the door to slide open. "Oh great. What the hell are you supposed to be, a giant pepper shaker?" 

The thing rolled towards me, then screamed. "YOU WILL EXIT THIS CELL AND COME WITH ME!" 

I licked my dry lips and pushed off the wall, managing to stay upright as I walked to it. "Right then. Lead the way." 

"YOU WILL WALK IN FRONT!" was the response, and I barely suppressed the flinch that threatened. 

I walked where the thing directed, shoving my hands in my pockets. I was stopped in a large space, filled with Daleks and a giant screen. On the screen was the Doctor and the captain fellow, both looking angry.

"YOU WILL SURRENDER OR WE KILL THE YOUNG TIME LORD!" the Dalek that seemed to be in charge rolled forward then backward, moving its plunger and wisk. I barked out a laugh, shaking my head. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THAT NOISE!?" the Dalek turned to me.

I looked at the thing then at the Doctor on screen. "The Doctor doesn't care about me. He would never sacrifice himself for me." my hearts pounded, and I knew that what I said wasn't completely right. But maybe they would leave Adrian alone and out of things.

"THE DOCTOOR WOULD NOT LET YOU DIE!" the Dalek spun back to the screen. "SURRENDER OR THE YOUNG TIME LORD GETS EXTERMINATED!"

I stared at the men on the screen, putting pressure on my stomach where most of the pain was.

"No one is surrendering and no one is dying!" a voice echoed through the room, and I turned to see a young blonde woman standing there, grinning up at the screen, a large laser gun in her hands. "Hi dad!"

The Doctor sputtered, then leaned in so his face filled the screen. "Jenny? I- I thought you died!"

"I did! But then I came back!" she smiled, then hefted up the giant gun she held. "Like I said. No one is dying. Unless it's you." she scowled at the hunks of metal as her gun powered up. 

 

~Adrian's POV~

I sat up with a gasp, reaching for my arm. I looked over and saw Captain Jack pulling away a needle and syringe. "Sorry kid. It's just a little bit of adrenaline."

"Right," I nodded, feeling the hormone pump through my veins. I swung my feet over the side of the bed in the med bay and shook my head. Memories swam around, and I shot up and ran out to the console room. "Where's Cauden?" 

My dad spun towards me, looking a bit shocked. And guilty. "The Daleks still have him. We're on our way to get him now," I nodded, digging into my pocket for a hairtie. "I want you and the humans to stay here, and Jack and I will get them, alright?"

"What! Dad, you can't make me stay here when he's out there!" I went to him and grabbed his jacket sleeve. "I'm not a little kid anymore!" then my mind flickered to the little kid I had gotten attatched to while I was human, and I frowned. "Where's Dean?"

Dad looked a bit relieved at the change of topic. "Ronnie took him to the galley."

I nodded and turned and ran to the galley, stopping in the doorway. Dean sat in a booster seat at the table, eating a sandwich. Ronnie leaned against the table next to him, watching him eat. I licked my lips and stepped into the room, and Ronnie's gaze snapped to mine.

"Adrian!" he rushed over and wrapped his arms around me. "The Doctor said you had exhausted yourself. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. Are you?" I smiled and hugged him back.

"Yea," he nodded, then pushed away to smile at me.

"Mummy! Look, I gots a sammich!" Dean called, and I went to him.

"Is it tastey?" I smiled at him, running my fingers through his blonde hair. He nodded and took a bite, grinning while he chewed. I chewed my lip as I watched him, trying to think of what we're all going to do. I noticed a girl walk in then, her long black hair in a ponytail. "Oh my god. Are you okay? I know all this stuff can be a bit overwhelming," I waved my hand arround. 

She nodded, smiling a bit. "I'm okay." 

"Adrian you're up! Oh my god!" I was tackled from behind, and I held onto the arms that wrapped around me. 

"Yes, Cali. I'm up. Can't keep me down for long, I am a Pond after all," I grinned and turned to give her a proper hug. I heard sniffling, and I pulled away to look at her. She was crying, properly crying. I frowned and held her closer. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head and pulled away, wiping her face. "'s okay. I was just worried. I'm glad you're okay," she smiled a little. 

I went to Dean and cleaned him up, then lifted him down to the floor. I knelt in front of him and held his hands in mine. "Hey, listen to mummy a minute, okay? There's something we gotta do, and I want you to stay here til we get back," he pouted, but nodded.

I stood up and started out of the galley to head to my room, but Ronnie grabbed my arm. "Adrian," I sighed and turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "I'm going with you. Jesse and Alex said they'd stay and watch Dean. Kourt, Cali and I are going with you."

"Thank you." I nodded at Alexandria, then continued to my room. Once there, I changed into a pair of stretchy black jeans, a skin tight jade green t-shirt, and a pair of combat boots. I made sure my hair was secure, then went to the console room. Ronnie, Cali and Kourtland filed in after me, all dressed in similar clothing to mine. "Dad, we're going too."

"Adrian-" he started to argue back, but Captain Jack put his hand on dad's shoulder. 

"Doc, we need all the help we can get," he glanced at my friends and me. 

"We'll be fine." I smirked, then went down the stairs and rummaged around in a compartment I had stocked up awhile ago. I pulled out two sonic blasters and a bigger gun, all three with special affects I had added on myself. Both sonic blasters could disintegrate most things if on the right setting, and the big gun was silent as well as deadly. I pulled out the last thing I had finished, a small leather bag that could be hooked onto a belt. I handed the blasters to the guys and the bag to Cali. "In the bag are electric grenades. They attatch to the victim and emit ten thousand volts of electricity."

"Adrian, what-" dad stood stunned, and I grinned.

"Mum made sure to teach me to use these. I figured one day there would be a time they would be needed." I shrugged and hefted my gun onto my shoulder. "Lets go save my boyfriend."

Dad and Jack piloted the TARDIS with skill, and we landed with a shudder. I showed my friends how to use their weapons and then we all filed out. Cauden ran to my side and kissed my cheek, and I took in the site in front of me. Three Daleks lay in ruins, a blonde girl standing with a gun similar to mine in her arms. "Hey sis! Nice gun."

"What?" blinked, confused. Sis? 

"Right, um, Adrian. This is- this is Jenny. Your older sister. I uh, I thought she had...but she hadn't, apparently, and she seems to have killed three Daleks," dad rambled, sounding quite angry at the end.

"They tried to kill me!" she pouted. "I gave them a chance to surrender, but they were all-"

"DALEKS DO NOT SURRENDER!" 

"Yea, that." she spun to face the Dalek, and I aimed and shot it to smithereens when the thing tried to advance. She turned back and nodded, smiling. "Nice shot."

"Thanks."

"Adrian!" Dad spun to me, a damgerous look in his eyes. 

"Look, dad. I know you're all about giving them chances and the like. But from my point of view, they lost that right when they tried to harm my friends, and when they hurt Cauden."  I lowered my gun and wrapped an arm around Cauden, staring at my father.

He nodded, looking a little sad. "Of course you'd say that." I frownedb and he turned away. "Jenny, come over here please." 

She did as he said, and Cauden went to stand behind me, with Kourtland and Ronnie on either side of him. Cali stood on my right, with Jenny on my left. We all got our weapons ready, and Jack handed Cauden a spare blaster before standing in the front with my dad. I noted briefly that I had somehow dressed just like my sister. 

A few more Daleks came rolling in, and my dad positioned himself so that none of us could get a good shot. I scowled, and kept my gun lowered. "Listen to me, just for a moment, I'm giving you a chance!" dad started a spiel about if they leave we won't kill them and such. I held back my scoff and adjusted my grip on my gun.

The Daleks seemed to ponder what dad had said, then one word rang around the space between them and us: "EXTERMINATE!" 

"No!" I screamed, and watched as Jack jumped in front of my dad. I aimed and shot at the Dalek, then at the others that rolled in behind it. Soon the only sounds were the screaming Daleks and our guns going off. 

More Daleks rolled in, and my dad yelled at us, pushing us back. "Retreat! Get to the TARDIS!" he dragged Jack with him, and we all ran inside the box. As soon as the doors were shut, dad threw the swithes and sent us away.

I dropped my gun to the ground and went to Cauden, throwing my arms around him. 'Thank god you're okay!'

He held onto me just as tight, burying his nose in my neck. 'I'm okay.' I tangled my fingers in his hair and showed him all that had happened, me being human and Dean and everything. He stiffened a bit, and pulled back. 

"Just look at his timeline. It's hard to explain." I bit my lip. Did he hate me now, even though nothing had happened between Ronnie and me? 

He shook his head and pressed his forehead to mine. 'I could never hate you,' he cupped my cheeks in his hands. 'We'll figure it out.'

"If you're quite finished making eyes at each other, we have things to discuss." my dad's voice cut through our conversation.

I sighed and smiled at Cauden, snogging him for good measure before turning to the others. Jack and Jenny looked a bit shocked, and my friends all just smirked. My dad avoided my gaze. "Right. Are we going after them, then?" 

The TARDIS shook, and we all scrambled to stay standing. "No need for that!" a familiar voice echoed through the comms, and dad threw the door open, letting in my mother. "Hello sweeties."

"Mum!" I grinned and ran to her, hugging her tightly. "Did you just blow up the Daleks?"

"Yes I did," she grinned at me, kissing my head. "Cauden, good to see you safe."

"Thank you, ma'am," he sounded all nervous and polite.

"How come my wife makes you nervous, but not me?" my dad whined.

"It's the face. And the bowtie." I snickered.

"Oi! Bowties are cool!" 

There was a gasp, and we all looked to see Jack sit up. I felt momentarily guilty for forgetting about him, then it hit; he was dead. Then he wasn't. "What the fu-"

"Mummy!" a small body collided with my legs, and I blushed hard under my mother's stare. 

I licked my lips and knelt down in front of him, taking his hands in mine like before. "Hey sweetheart. Were you good for Jesse and Alex?" he nodded, and I smiled. He yawned, and I shook his hands a bit. "You ready for bed, then?" he nodded again, and I stood and picked him up. I looked at my mother and smiled a little sheepishly. "My human self kind of adopted him."

She smiled and kissed my head again, ruffling Dean's hair. "I know. Tell me about it next time you see me."

I nodded and turned. "I'm gonna put him in my room. I'll sleep later." Cauden smiled and kissed me, and Jenny followed me into the corridor. "So. You're my sister?"

She smiled at me and nodded, looking at the floor. "Yea. I was born from a progenation machine. They stuck dad's hand in, and I walked out." 

I nodded, a little shocked. "He never told me about you." she looked a bit sad, so I elaborated. "I mean, I think that loosing you hurt too much, so he burried the experience."

She smiled a bit. "I guess."

"He does it with everyone. I only know about his companions 'cause I snooped." I grinned sheepishly, stopping at my bedroom door. I opened it and gestured her to follow me. "Come on in, I'm just gonna lay him down and then grab a snack from the galley." I tucked the boy in my blankets and laid my hand on his chest, kissing his forehead. 

"Mummy, where you goin'?" Dean grabbed my hand when I made to leave.

"I'm just going down the hall a bit. I'm not going far." I smiled and left, closing the door behind Jenny. 

I hooked my arm in hers and we walked side-by-side to the galley, and she told me about her birthday and Donna Noble. About the Haths and the Source and how she had made the choice to not kill. "Until those Daleks, anyway. I wasn't going to kill thdm, but it was either them or me. Them or the rest of the universe." 

"Yea, I know that. Dad does too, really. He's just upset that it had been us that killed them instead of him." I smiled, and the smile grew when I found everyone else in the galley as well, Cauden making his awesome omelettes.

~~T~A~R~D~I~S~~

I felt the TARDIS shudder as she landed, and I rolled over in bed. I burried my head into the pillows, not wanting to leave my safe cocoon of blankets. I laid still when I heard my door creak open, and huffed out a breath when a small body landed on mine. 

"Mummy! Get up now, it's time to go!" Dean straddled my back and shook me a bit. I made sure to put on an act of playfulness, pushing back the sadness I felt. After a talk with my parents, Ronnie, and Cauden we all agreed that Dean's best chance right now was at the orphanage where Cauden and I had grown up. 

I turned in bed, and he landed with a 'oomf' on the covers. "But I don't wanna get up!" I grinned at him, and he grinned back.

"Come on, mummy!" I reached for him, tickling his sides. He giggled and squirmed away, kicking at my hands. 

"Alright, I'm coming. I need something to eat, anyway." I rolled out of bed and stretched, laughing loudly when the boy tickled my exposed stomach. "Hey! Now that's cheating!" I doubled over and wiggled my fingers, and he ran off with a squeal of laughter. I followed him to the galley, and scooped him up and held him upside down. I tickled his sides again and he laughed and kicked, making me laugh with him.

We've spent a month here in the vortex, resting and hanging out, getting to know Alex and Jenny. Cauden has attached himself to Dean, much like Ronnie and I had in the first place. Even Jesse likes to teach him things, mostly funny little tricks like touching his tongue to his nose. None of us want to seperate from him, but a life on the TARDIS is not the best one for a small child.

"No, mummy! Stop!" the boy laughed, and I lowered him to the ground as Cauden made himself known. 

"Hey," I smiled at him, and he picked up Dean before coming over and kissing me. 

"Hey, doing okay?" he asked softly, and Dean lay his head down.

"Yea," I took a deep breath, and put my head on Cauden's other shoulder. "We're on Kodomo?"

"Yea," he nodded, wrapping his arm around me. 

"Let's get this over with, then." I pushed back my tears and smiles at them. I pulled away and walked to the console, and Dean ended up walking next to me. Once we got there, everyone else was already waiting. Ronnie and Jesse stood near the console itself, Calico and Kourtland stood with Alexandria by the jumpseat. My mum and Jenny met us at the doorway, and my dad stood by the door with his hands in his pockets.

We filed out of the TARDIS and into the common room of the place I spent my childhood. I held onto Dean's hand, Ronnie holding his other one. Cauden wrapped his arm around my waist, and Jesse held Ronnie's other hand. The five of us walked up to Caith, who stood next to a bookshelf. I opened my mouth to speak, only to find that I didn't trust my voice.

"Hello, Caith." Cauden spoke for me, and I threw him a grateful smile. 

"Cauden! What are you doing here?" the woman smiled, looking at us all. 

"This is Dean. He would like to stay here, grow up a semi-normal way." Cauden nodded to the toddler clinging to Ronnie's and my hands. 

"Of course! Come and get everything signed," she gestured for us to follow. 

"Jess and I'll go sign stuff." Cauden kissed my head, kissed Dean's head, and followed after Caith, Jesse behind him.

I knelt down in front of Dwan and clutched onto the coveralls he wore. "Now you listen to me, yea? Be a good boy, and do as Caith says. Listen to your teachers, and always be nice to others."

"I will, Mummy." he nodded his blonde head.

Ronnie knelt down next to me, holding onto the boy's shoulder. "We'll come visit when we can, okay?" Dean nodded. "Study hard."

I pulled Dean to me, hugging him tightly. "I love you so much. You grow up good, you hear me?" I kissed his cheek and stood up, letting Ronnie hug him as well. The other two came back, and they hugged him as well. I went to Caith and she took my hands in hers. "Look after him? And don't let him forget us." 

"Of course," she smiled and squeezed my hands.

I nodded and turned to back into the TARDIS, leaning in the doorway. Dean took Caith's offered hand and waved at us before being led away. I went inside and pushed passed everyone. I went to my room, busting inside right before I broke down. A second later, I felt my mother's arms around me, and my sister's as well. They didn't say anything, they just held me on the floor while I sobbed.

}{

"Feeling better?" Cauden asked me as I left the bathroom. I had taken a long hot shower, washing away the midevil grime that had clung to my skin. 

"Yea." I smiled, and climbed onto my bed. "Don't you have your own bed?" I nudged his side.

"I like yours better," he smirked, pulling me to him and snogging me propper like. "Are you sure about staying in Cardiff?"

I nodded, sniffing. After lots of thinking and talking, my friends and I decided we wanted a break from space. Just a break, long enough to catch our breaths. Jack had offered us all temporary jobs at Torchwood, and we had decided to take him up on it. "Yes. I just need to breathe for a bit," I smiled.

"Okay," he pulled me into his chest, kissing my head. "Then, we'll visit Dean when we get back into space."

I nodded, snuggling into him while I trailed my fingers over his chest, tracing his name in circular gallifreyan. "Yes, we will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end! There's a sequal I'm working on, but it's no where near finished. So. Hope you enjoyed this, it took me like a year and a half to write. Comment your thoughts and feels, or something. XD


End file.
